Genjutsu
by CrAzY-SiLLy-Me
Summary: AUOOC Sasusaku She's a top Jounin ranked ninja in Konoha Academy, while he's an ANBU student from Oto. "And why would you care! I mean, you were probably forced to look for me!" she yelled. "Yeah," he admitted. "My heart forced me to find you."
1. Trustworthy

A/N: I can't help but post this fic. It's been saved in my documents for a month! Just know that I will not abandon Biohazard. It's just currently in need of more action and cliffhangers. I keep watching Resident Evil 1 and 2, Zombie Loan and other zombie related movies that have military men or policemen as the ones who destroy these guys. That's how much I'm dedicated to finishing a story!

* * *

**Genjutsu**

"Exchange students..?!"

The principal of Konoha Institute for Ninjas cleared his throat and looked up once more. "Yes, you see, my former student has requested for his school and mine to get to know each other better. And we've decided that one male and one female ninja from here will go there to replace the other two ninjas he'll be sending."

The students of the whole school began muttering to each other as some of their teachers tried to hush them. When the noise only got louder, the principal had decided to keep them quiet himself. "SILENCE!" he yelled, causing everyone to shut their mouths and stare back at the old man. "As I was saying," again, he cleared his throat. "He will be sending two ninjas, one male and one female, over here. From what I hear, he's sending over one ANBU level and one Jounin level, but he won't reveal which one is the boy or the girl." He closed his eyes. In Konoha, their year levels differed from the school he was talking about. Here, the first years are considered to be ninjas-in-training, the second years are labeled as Genin, the juniors as Chuunin and the seniors as Jounin. To get to ANBU level, the seniors must first perfect all of the three basics in ninja: Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu.

Aside from that, you must learn at least a basic of being a medical nin to attain the ANBU level. This was how tough Konoha is, but their tuition here is fair enough, yet still pricey compared to the other school he was talking about. Yet the good part in being able to study in Konoha is that you graduate as a high-level Jounin, and if you're lucky, an ANBU. This was the only ninja school available in Konohagakure, same goes for other cities like Suna, Mizu and the like.

"So, who are you sending?" one student asked after raising his hand. Sarutobi looked at him first before smiling slightly. "I've already picked two candidates. Except the other one volunteered to go there, and for permanent transfer."

* * *

_**Mission 1: Trustworthy**_

"No way! You got picked?!"

He laughed at her shocked look. "Yeah, I was surprised myself when Sarutobi-sama suddenly came up to me and told me that he had chosen me." He pushed up his glasses and leaned against his locker, waiting for the girl to finish. "Damn, if you go, who else am I going to learn medical jutsu from?" she asked with puppy dog eyes. He laughed again and patted the girl's head. "Come on Sakura, I'm sure you'll do fine, after all, you are aiming to be a medical ninja right?"

"Yeah Kabuto, but still, the gang and I are going to miss you, especially your useful notes!" she teased.

"I kind of figured that out." He said, grinning. They headed off to their meeting place with the gang, running into an overdramatic Lee who hugged Kabuto and cried. "I heard the news! This must be awful! You'll be transferred there against your will Kabuto-san!"

"Lee-san, it's not that." Kabuto said, pulling away. "As a Jounin of Konoha, I must do this task, I will fulfill this _mission_whether I like it or not." He said with a smile. "Beautiful Kabuto-san!" he cried. "I will wish you luck!" Sakura giggled when Kabuto rolled his eyes at her, directing the gesture to Lee and the three of them continued making their way towards the table.

"Hey guys!" Sakura greeted when they reached the picnic table. "Hey!" they all replied. "I heard that three students from Suna will also be visiting here." One said. Sakura turned to the girl with blinking eyes. "How'd you know that Ino?"

"I'm under Anko-sensei's extra-class for spying Sakura, what do you think?" she asked, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Anyway, Sarutobi-sama already sent three other students over there, glad it wasn't anyone from our class." She glanced at Kabuto. "Again…" she added.

"Darn, five people are taken from Konoha."

"Don't worry about it Ten-Ten," Kabuto said. "So, who's the other one going to this school I'm headed?"

"Her name's Kin, she's from class 5. She wanted to permanently transfer there since her boyfriend studies there." The girl replied, sighing. "And the fact that the tuition in Oto is cheaper since-"

"Oto?!" they all exclaimed with bewildered faces. Ten-Ten nodded and raised a brow. "What's with your reactions?"

"You don't know?!"

"Duh, I wouldn't be asking if I knew, Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "Well, my dad said that students from Oto are strictly trained. They only follow rules when needed, and they're so emotionless! So cold! So un-human!" he exclaimed, raising both hands up in the air. "Don't you mean _in_human..?" Sakura corrected. Naruto looked away with a stubborn face, muttering to himself. "Ms. Smarty-pants…"

Unfortunately, Sakura heard this.

* * *

"Konoha..?" 

"Yes," he answered, turning on his chair to face the teen. "I picked you to represent our school due to your records." He added, picking up the folder which contained all the data the boy before him had. "And from the looks of it, you're someone who can awe them, someone who can show them how Oto trains ninjas, and how you will all turn out." a smirk made its way to his face as he looked up at the impassive boy. "Besides, I don't want to disappoint my former teacher." He leaned back and looked out the window. "I want him to be proud of me."

"I'm pretty sure he already is."

"Hm, praise from you is very unusual," he turned back to him. "Is there something you want from me?"

The boy looked down for a while before looking back at the principal. "Orochimaru-sensei, if an opportunity comes to me to seek her, can I-"

"You need not say more. I assumed that you would ask me this, that's why I made your transfer there to be until the school year ends, at most, or until you get what you've been aiming for." He smiled a bit, a rare sight to see from Oto's principal. "Now then, prepare your things, you will leave at exactly 7.30 in the morning tomorrow, it will take you an hour to get there through the train." He dismissed the boy but when the teenager turned to make his leave, Orochimaru opened his mouth to say something.

"And just a little warning, I unfortunately picked Karin's name…"

"Tch. Damn it."

* * *

"Aww man… Kabuto left already…" Naruto muttered, eyeing the now empty seat that was at the far end of the room, right in the back, but positioned in the middle column. "Naruto-kun, I'm sure he'll come visit…" his seatmate assured. "Yeah, I hope he does Hinata-chan," he forced a small smile to assure the girl that he was okay. "Man, Kakashi-sensei is late again." He added. 

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?" Sakura, who was standing before his seat next to Ino and Kiba, asked. "What're you three doing here?" Naruto questioned. "I thought old man Sarutobi called you? And you two, shouldn't you be posting the announcements on the bulletin board?"

"Done with it." Kiba answered.

Sakura had an annoyed look on her face. "Unfortunately, I have to tour this new guy around the campus." She sighed. "Being the class representative, I have no choice."

"Sakura-chan, why you..?" Hinata asked. "Why not the batch representative..?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious that this guy is going to be our classmate, and the girl will replace Kin in class 5, where our batch representative is in, therefore…" she smiled at Hinata who already got the message. "I just hope the guy would be easy on the eyes and wouldn't be too conceited…" a sigh escaped her lips again as Ino waddled her index finger from right to left at Sakura's face. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're forgetting that this student will be from Oto, therefore, being conceited will most likely be a part of his personality, and I bet he's going to be u-g-l-y! Good luck on that Sakura." She grinned.

"Gee, thanks for ruining my day Ino…"

The door slid open as the whole class turned to see their teacher arrive, surprisingly, not reading the orange book he always carries with him. "Good morning class, sorry I'm late, I had to help my neighbors get rid of the fire that-"

"Save it sensei!" the class yelled.

Kakashi pouted playfully. "You're all so mean…" he said, walking up towards his desk. "Anyway, the student our principal was talking about is here, class, please welcome," he extended his left hand towards the door in a welcoming gesture as the student stepped in. "Uchiha Sasuke of Oto Institute!"

The class gaped, eyes wide and blinking as Sasuke walked towards the center and stopped to face them. His right hand held onto the strap of his backpack while his left was pocketed in his pants. Like most guys in Konoha, his white short-sleeved polo's buttons were undone, revealing the black shirt he wore inside. His dark blue denims were a straight-cut style and his black shoes were leather. But what shocked them were three things: one was that he was wearing a black shirt instead of a red one that was for Jounin, next, he did not wear a forehead protector – whether it was Konoha's symbol or Oto's, and that he wasn't as ugly as Ino had predicted- two of which only meant one thing…

"Holy shit! He's an ANBU level ninja!" Naruto cried, pointing a finger at him as he stood up with gawking eyes. Kakashi smiled in amusement. "Very good Naruto, I'm at least glad you listen to Iruka-sensei's class with regards to proper uniform, rankings and forehead protectors." He turned back to Sasuke, still smiling behind the mask he wore. "Yes class, Uchiha-san here is indeed an ANBU level ninja from Oto. Why else did we not give him a forehead protector? And the fact that his shirt is black instead of red, unlike the rest of you boys here." He teased. "The girls in Oto also have the same uniform like you do here: white short-sleeved polo with black skirts and color-coded vests, as well as the necktie which will be black, red if you're in ANBU level." He gave another beaming smile, or at least, that's what it looked like behind the mask due to his expressive eyes.

Like the other Ninja schools, Genin levels wear green shirts/vests, depending on their gender. Chuunin levels have blue ones, Jounin have red and ANBU have black. (Teachers wear their usual clothes in the anime – just make their sandals closed-toe types)

"Now then, Uchiha-san, please tell us something about you."

Sasuke remained silent for a while, his eyes looking down at the floor before turning back to the class before him. "I'm not sure what to tell you," he said, his eyes calculating and serious. "As an ANBU, giving out any information about me is unnecessary, therefore, it's best that you just get to know me during my stay here, in that way, you get to test your stealth skills, _and_know something about me." The class began whispering to each other. "However," he added, his eyes turning a bit colder as the class froze up. "If I catch you, know that you won't be able to escape."

"_Man… this guy's creepy…" _Kiba thought, gulping.

Kakashi, on the other hand, found this amusing. "Hm, I'd like to try that out then, Uchiha-san, but since you'll be my student starting today," he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'll just call you Sasuke." He soon tightened his grip, making Sakura stand up. "Sensei, you're hurting him!" she exclaimed, noting how deep Kakashi's fingers had dug. "Nonsense Sakura," he said, narrowing his eyes at the male teen. "I'm sure Sasuke won't mind if I get rid of his kage bunshin."

"What?"

A poof was heard and 'Sasuke' was gone.

"Hn, took you long enough to figure that out."

Everyone turned their heads to the back door where Sasuke was standing, leaning against the closed door as he raised his head and opened his eyes. "I guess I still ought to comment on how fast you got it, still, it was slower than my sensei's." Kakashi eyed him and smiled. "Well, I'm no sannin like Orochimaru-san, Sasuke, but I have to admit, you're pretty good at hiding your chakra." He turned to Sakura. "Not even my best student figured that out, or could fool me so easily."

Even though not everyone knew to whom he directed it at, Sasuke could tell that it was the pink-haired girl who stood up, seeing how she tensed and how her fists clenched tightly. Her eyes that had a glare directed towards him was a dead giveaway, and he couldn't help but turn to her and smirk. _"This girl is amusing but…" _he thought, watching her grit her teeth. "Annoying..."

"…what?" she spat.

"Hn, I said you're annoying."

"Teme, how could you say that to Sakura-chan?!" Naruto yelled, standing up again. Sasuke turned his head to him. "Dead-last, Haruno-san just annoys me with the way she's directing her glare at me." He turned back to Sakura. "Sorry if your teacher thinks like that." His smirk did not waver at all, nor did his stance or poise, and it irritated Sakura more when she heard some of her female classmates gush about him, and from her peripheral vision, their blushes looked like love-struck types. What really made her angrier was the fact that she too, found him intriguing, especially when he smirked at her. Pushing that away though, he called Naruto a dead-last, which he was in this class, and he knew her last name. This ANBU was dangerous…

"Alright, alright, let's save the friendly conversation for later. Class is about to start." Kakashi called for the class' attention once more. "Sasuke, please take your seat over there." he pointed the one next to Sakura, where Kabuto used to sit on. "Hn," he picked up his bag from the floor and headed towards his seat, glancing at Sakura who glared at him again. He smirked, and her brows knitted together some more. "Mind if I call you 'Cherry'?" he said in a hushed tone, sitting down and turning back to Kakashi, catching the blush that ran across her face when he asked that. "Don't you dare, bastard…"

"Hn, it's a free country anyway," he smirked at her once more. "Cherry."

* * *

"This activity will test your skills as a jounin, or ANBU in Sasuke's case. If you are able to defeat me in record time, you get a perfect mark on your grade. However, if it takes you too long to get me, you fail." He checked the reactions from his students. "And afterwards, I will be pairing you up for sparring, it's for bonus points. Let's get to the cliff then!" 

He led the way and pointed down at the foggy depths below. "I have one kage bunshin down there that will be timing your fight. I will leave one more to stay here with you, and another to monitor your every move. Oh, and in order to get a perfect score," he turned to his students with teasing eyes. "You'll have to attack with the intention to kill me." And he jumped after making a kage bunshin who held onto a clipboard with the class' names written there. Everyone was able to see how their sensei landed perfectly on the waters below. From above, a special technique was done so that they could watch the fight, but the one(s) who will be fighting against Kakashi won't get a clear view of his or her surroundings.

"First up is Uzumaki Naruto!" The kage bunshin said. Naruto gulped and stepped forward, taking a deep breathe in before diving down the lake, landing on the water's surface with one knee kneeling on it while his other feet fell flat on the top. "Alright sensei, get ready to give me a good score, dattebayo!" he ran around the water, trying to find his teacher as he kept his guard up.

"He's not very good in chakra control…"

Sakura turned to her right to see Sasuke with his hands pocketed in his pants' pockets casually, looking down at the fight that was already happening. She hated to say it but, he's right. Naruto was never good in controlling his chakra. "Well, ever since he found out about his huge amount of chakra stored in him, he's… been reckless."

"It's the ninetails, or more famously known as Kyuubi, isn't it?"

Her eyes widened and she abruptly turned his head to him. "How did..?"

"I did my research on all of you before getting here."

"Are you that suspicious of us?!"

"No, it's what Oto teaches ANBU level ninjas."

"Oh, so, how many ANBUs are in Oto?"

Sasuke didn't answer for a while. "The whole senior batch is labeled as ANBU."

"W-what?!"

He smirked and turned to her. "Fooled 'ya there, didn't I?"

She blushed and glared at him. "It's not funny!"

"Hn, but it's somewhat true. To Orochimaru-sensei, the seniors are considered to be ANBU for even passing third year. Yet those who only lucked out are still marked as Jounin. Unlike the rest of the school, Oto has junior high for newbies, when you're in first year, you're already a genin, unless you show a far better potential, you are allowed to skip pass that rank. Karin, the girl who came here with me, is older than me by two years, but since she started as a genin late, she was held back. Although sensei doesn't consider her as ANBU ranked because she shows too much… emotions… to be an ANBU."

"But… she's only human…"

"True, but you won't become an ANBU if you're too expressive." He turned to her. "Remember this, a ninja can say anything if he keeps an impassive face, because the enemy won't be able to tell if he is lying. Yet when that ninja is very emotional or easily shows his feelings, then the opponent will be able to tell." He turned back to the fight below, seeing how Naruto was caught by Kakashi's trap. "Hn, I guess he fails."

* * *

More students were called, some failed, some passed, and few were able to defeat Kakashi in record time. "Well, looks like we have two more students left," the clone Kakashi said, directing his look towards Sasuke and Sakura. "So, which one of you wants to go next?" he asked with amusement. Sasuke glanced at Sakura who stood still, slightly nervous. "…You want me to go first?" he asked in a whisper. She looked down, feeling embarrassed that she was letting her fear get to her again. "N-no, it's okay, I'll go." She took a step forward, but he discreetly grabbed her wrist. "Don't push yourself if you can't, think about it first, you're a ninja, and a ninja must not decide on emotions or pride alone." 

He then let her go as she stood there, thinking about what he said. After a few seconds, she walked towards the edge of the cliff and looked down. _"I guess Sasuke isn't that much of a bastard or a jerk," _she glanced back at him and gave a small smile of thanks. He was a bit taken aback by her actions, but he gave a small one of his own. _"I'm in Konoha anyway…" _he thought, watching the girl close her eyes and jump down the cliff.

She opened her eyes when she sensed that she was nearing the surface of the water that she did a front flip in mid air and landed perfectly on her feet, her chakra control was excellent and she hid it well, exposing just the right amount of it to keep her standing on water.

"You go Sakura-chan!" Lee yelled, waving a flag that had a chibi picture of Sakura. Sasuke sweat dropped at this and sighed before looking down, observing Sakura and Kakashi's distance. _"Something tells me that this fight will be interesting to watch…" _he closed his eyes and sighed. _"_If_ she does lasts long that is…" _

Kakashi was hidden under one of the trees that grew taller than the water's surface, making the place look more like a swamp, plus the fact that there were vines hanging on the branches. How the students were still able to watch would remain an interesting mystery, even if a technique was used. "Where the heck are you..?" she whispered to herself, trying to calm down as the minutes ticked by. She didn't have too much chakra supply, and she was wasting most of them by keeping her body from sinking down below. At that thought, she shivered a bit, fear engulfing her once more as she hugged herself, her past haunting her again as she shut her eyes tight.

"Oh no, Sakura!"

She opened her eyes and was shocked to see her sensei deflect the three kunai that were heading straight for her. When the weapons sank down, Kakashi turned to give Sakura a stern look. "What's the idea of you freezing up like that?! You could've been killed!" his eyes softened when the girl looked down and shook. With a sigh, he scratched the back of his head. "I'll give you five points for the perfect landing, and three points for perfect chakra control; however, you need seventeen more points to get a passing mark, since the perfect score is forty points."

Kakashi eyed his student carefully before sighing. "Can you fight or not?" she shook her head a bit. "Alright, get back up there, you can make up for the points on another fight later, with another student." She gave a nod and walked towards where the clone Kakashi that was keeping track of the time stood. He then assisted her in going back up before jumping down again. Sasuke glanced at her as she sat down, her friends running to her to ask if she was okay.

"Sasuke, you're next." The clone said.

He gave one last look at Sakura before walking towards the edge. He closed his eyes first, then opened them again, his clan's technique activated. Instead of jumping, he ran down the cliff, surprising his new classmates of the speed he possessed as he made a few hand seals, stopping at one particular seal that Ino identified as the tiger seal. "Katon…"he reached the water's surface but still continued running towards his target, surprising Kakashi when he suddenly blew a big ball of fire that came from his mouth. "Goukyaku no jutsu!"

"He easily found sensei!"

Kakashi had to sink down the water to avoid the fire since going right would mean hitting the tree, going left would mean hitting the rock and going up would not help him avoid his clothes getting caught on fire since the flames seem to be too big for him to just evade. _"Cunning…"_he thought, recalling how the boy stood on the cliff for a short period of time first before running down the cliff. _"He knew exactly where I was, I guess I'll be forced to use _that_ too, but I can't."_

Sasuke stood still when the fire faded, and he turned his head slightly to Kakashi who resurfaced, now standing a few feet behind him. "Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't your eyes black and not red?" he asked in amusement. Sasuke smirked. "I only use these eyes when I feel that my opponent is strong or stronger and when Cherry froze all of a sudden, I concluded that you were not a ninja whom I should take lightly," he slowly faced his new sensei. "Copy nin Kakashi, the son of 'White Fang'." He paused for a moment. _"Although Orochimaru-sensei did not provide the information I asked for," _his eyes narrowed a bit. _"Why is he called 'copy nin'?"_

"You did a lot of research Sasuke, very good." He then turned his back on Sasuke. "Unfortunately, I think I used up all of my chakra." He started to walk away but Sasuke spoke. "You're not a very good liar at all sensei," Kakashi stopped and turned to him. "In fact, you still have more than half stored in you, there's something that you're hiding from me," he looked at his teacher from head to toe. "Or is it because that one objective of this fight was to get the opponent to sink below?"

"You are very smart indeed Sasuke." Kakashi commented. "Yes, that _is_the very main objective." He then ran back up to the cliff, closely followed by Sasuke as he looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes. _"And yes, I do have a secret that you should not know of just yet. But in order to keep that, I must not fight you further."_

"That was… fast…" Kiba said, seeing his teacher soaked and Sasuke remaining unscratched and not tired. _"Shit, is he that good?" _

"Well, he got me to sink, so, he wins." He laughed when his students fell down and glared dangerously at Kakashi. Sasuke left them to yell at the teacher who was trying to calm them down and approached Sakura who was standing at the cliff's edge, eyeing the setting below. "You still feeling weird?" he asked, startling her a bit. "…How did you do that?" she asked back, eyes narrowing slightly. "No one has ever figured out where sensei was hiding, but you just… charged and got him already."

"…it's called observing with gifted eyes."

"Huh?" she looked at him. "Before I ran down there, I eyed the scene carefully, trying to look for him. When I wasn't able to spot him, I concluded that he was using a genjutsu that hid him well. So, I used these eyes…" he closed his eyes and opened them again to reveal them red. Sakura gasped, knowing very well what those eyes were called. "Sharingan…"

"Aa, it enables the user to see through illusions and predict the movements of the opponent. That's why, when I was already heading for sensei, I had to make sure the ninjutsu I used would make sure that he has nowhere to go but below. He was trapped in between the tree and rock, if he jumped, I can still control the flame to follow his movements, if he backed away, I can throw some kunai at him which will make it harder to spot due to the fire."

She looked at him in awe as he deactivated the Sharingan. "I didn't become an ANBU for nothing Sakura."

"…You're good…" she complimented, but her fists clenched even though she was smiling a bit. "You're really good…"

"No," he answered. "I can tell that you are too, it's just a matter of knowing what to do, how to act and when to act. It's also a matter of being aware of your surroundings. Why you suddenly froze down there earlier is a mystery to me, but in the battlefield, _never_ do that, especially if you're on a solo mission or on your own."

"…Yeah, thanks for the tip."

"Hn," he looked back at her again. "So, how come your hair is tied to a ponytail?"

"Eh?"

"Well, the only girls I've seen here in Konoha who have their hairs tied are Ino and Ten-Ten." He turned back to her. "And your forehead protector is around your neck…"

"It's… to keep sharp weapons from getting to my neck, and as for my hair, well," she looked away, her face a bit red. "…I don't want it to get in the way…"

* * *

"Alright then, let's start off with Sasuke and Sakura." Kakashi announced as the two stepped forward. "Alright, same objective, first one to sink loses. Fight as long as you can and don't kill each other or do anything that's vital. If I see a reason for me to stop the fight, I will. Clear?" the two nodded and he signaled them to begin. 

They jumped and landed well on the surface; next they instantly sprang apart and started the fight by throwing shuriken at each other. Sakura blocked with her arms as the shuriken grazed her skin, causing blood to spill out as Sasuke deflected the star-shaped blades with a kunai he took out from his kunai holster. He slid back on the surface, causing water to splash around as he looked up to see Sakura do a back flip and land on her feet. From the looks of it, he managed to get her wounded, nothing vital but it was still to his advantage if she were to hide or use an illusion technique.

"I didn't even get a scratch on him…" Sakura said to herself, observing her opponent as he stood up from his kneeling position and twirled the kunai in his hand, throwing it back inside the holster. "Get in the way… huh?" he whispered to himself, eyeing her hair. He knew that she was lying back there when he asked about it; and the forehead protector, she placed it around her neck because of another reason. It wasn't due to the fact that it would prevent anything from hitting it, although it was a reasonable excuse. _"But a jounin at her level wouldn't have that much of a problem…" _he thought. _"There's a reason behind it, and I'm going to find out in this fight." _He soon ran towards her while she threw some kunai at him and backed away.

"_To get information from someone, one must also give out even a little detail about himself. Just like how you'd say your name first before you ask for theirs." _He tried to throw her a punch but she ducked. _"Hn, she's fast."_

"_He wants close combat, but I'm not letting him get near me…" _she did a few hand seals and performed a genjutsu, causing Sasuke to stop when the leaves that were on the branches of the trees began to flow around him, blocking his vision as he cursed and closed his eyes, reopening them to see the leaves disappear. Right now, he can't depend on his sense of sight, and he didn't want to use sharingan, he always saved that for later options or if he feels threatened._"Her genjutsu is perfectly executed," _he thought, closing his eyes and concentrating on the sounds of his surroundings. _"But Oto is known for training ninjas in mastering their hearing senses…"_he heard footsteps approaching, and the way the water sounded helped him detect his opponent, plus the scent of blood that traveled through his nostrils. "Found you." He did a few hand seals and turned around when he made the last seal. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" he spat out fireballs from his mouth as Sakura skidded to a stop and did a wind type technique that made the water she stood on rise to put out the fire. Her eyes widened when there were shuriken hidden in the flames.

She quickly dodged all of them, landing back on her feet but she froze when she sensed him standing behind her, one arm around her waist to keep her arms clipped to her sides while the other held a kunai below her chin. "Hn," he smirked. "You're fast, but I'm faster." And she felt her hair tie give way, letting her long pink locks fall._"Those shuriken managed to cut my hair tie… and I didn't even notice…"_

Sasuke heard whistles and yells from the boys above, and Kakashi was yelling something about a job well done in getting Sakura to get her hair down. He blinked and looked at her, seeing how her bangs shadowed her eyes. "You didn't want them to see you with your hair down…"

She shook and gave a nod. "They only care for my looks! Those boys would ask me out the moment they see me with my hair down! They don't even know me that well!" she elbowed him and that caused him to let go to aid his stomach as he eyed her with his brows narrowed. _"Shit, I let my guard down…" _she glared at him as the wind blew at them, he felt the breeze blow against his back, and he was a bit surprised when the zephyr blew against Sakura's face. His eyes softened and he returned the kunai. "You know," he began looking back up at her. "I don't blame them if they immediately ask you out, but you're right, I kind of feel the same about people liking you for your looks alone, but…" she was taken aback when he smiled at her. "You are beautiful with your hair down, don't be ashamed of it. Sure it gets irritating when too many people follow you, but you can always politely refuse them, if not, well, you're a ninja, go figure."

He smirked at the last part. "And judging from how you fight, I think the guys will get the message to back off once you're done giving them a punch or two," he got into a fighting stance. "Come on, let's continue this."

She nodded and also got into a fighting stance. They then charged at each other, engaging themselves in taijutsu as their classmates watched in awe and amusement. Their fight was like a rehearsed dance number, their timing in evading and attacking was perfectly done, and from what Kakashi observed, they seem to be enjoying the fight instead of detesting it. _"This is interesting, an ANBU from Oto has a thing for Konoha's cherry blossom…"_

"Ah!" she yelled when he caught her wrist and had it behind her, but he made sure that it wasn't too strong, and Sakura can tell that he was trying to be gentle in fighting her. "Are you holding back because I'm a girl?!" she asked with a glare. "No, I'm just controlling my own strength to prevent any vital damages." She rolled her eyes and had her right foot slid behind his right one and caused him to trip. He cursed and let go of her because he might break her arm if he didn't. He quickly sent chakra to his whole body to prevent from sinking, and he looked up when Sakura threw a chakra infested punch on him.

She hit him, but he turned into a log. "Kawarimi?!" she felt someone kick her back that she had to maintain her chakra control when she rolled over the water's surface. Quickly staggering to her feet, she eyed Sasuke who still didn't seem to be wounded or show any signs of being hurt. _"His level is too high for me to handle, and I can't last longer than this."_ She clenched her fists. _"This is the first time I feel like losing… no way, I can't lose. This guy… he can't just easily replace my rank in class… he's…"_she ran towards him, pulling her hand back for a punch as Sasuke evaded all of her attacks, looking for the right moment to counter. _"He's my rival!" _she concluded and cursed when she felt her movements slowing down._"Shoot, my chakra is getting lower!" _

He noted how her attacks slowed down, and with a confused look, he grabbed her wrist and she stopped, panting and feeling her knees give in. "Sakura, don't force yourself…" he whispered in her ear. She dreaded that feeling that invaded her body, that shiver… it wasn't the one for fear, she shivered because of the close proximity they have. "Get away!" she yelled, pushing him back. He almost fell backwards but instantly caught his balance. He saw that she stumbled backward, and he sensed that her chakra was long gone. The look in her eyes caused him to sprint forward to catch her before she falls, and before she could even sink below, he wrapped his arms around her waist to prevent her from going under the water.

Although he needed one hand to break their fall, so he concentrated chakra on that hand as it touched the water's surface. Sakura, in instinct, embraced his neck in a tight manner and buried her face on his chest, her body shaking again as he panted. He wasn't tired or anything, but when he felt an adrenaline rush a while ago in an attempt to save Sakura, it caused him to use up more chakra just to get to her in time. When he finally caught his breath, he glanced at her, noticing how her shut eyes were holding back what looked like tears.

He was on his knees too, and the lower part of her body was already underwater, but at least she wasn't completely below it. "This battle is over, Sasuke is the winner." Kakashi announced as the class cheered; some for Sasuke, some for Sakura for a job well done in fighting. "Alright you two, get back up here and dry yourselves!"

Sasuke sighed and tightened his grip around Sakura's waist since he only had one arm to keep her from falling. "Sakura, I'm going to let go now, okay?" he whispered. She gave a nod and slowly sat down on the water, trying to calm down as she delivered chakra on the right parts of her body. She was feeling tired, and scared, plus her chakra wasn't equally balanced, so Sasuke grabbed her wrist when he was finally on his own two feet, and pulled her up. She was shocked at the sudden action, and she fell against his body, his right hand held her left wrist, while his left was around her waist. "Tie your hair and we can go back up there." She nodded and took the handkerchief he offered to her, and used it as a hair tie. "Can you walk?" she gave a slow nod, still dazed from what happened. Seeing this, he did not hesitate to carry her in his arms and run back up to the cliff's edge where their classmates waited.

"Wow, that was one awesome fight!" one said. "Yeah! I can't wait for the next!" another piped. Kakashi smiled and called the next pair as Sasuke settled Sakura down a bit further from the class. She sat on the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees, her eyes half-closed and looking downcast. He noted how she was a bit soaked, so he took off his white polo and draped it around her shoulders, snapping her out from her deep thinking as she looked at him. He smiled a bit at her. "I can teach you how to swim if you want, just give me a call." And he got up and went to approach the class.

"Sasuke…"

He stopped and turned his head to her slightly.

"Why are you… so different around me..?" she asked. "You talk to me. You're so nice to me and…"

He remained silent for a while before turning his head away from her.

"I trust you." And he walked away.

Sakura eyed him for a moment before lowering her gaze, pulling his white polo closer to her. She turned to look at the young Uchiha and smiled as a blush adorned her cheeks.

"_Uchiha Sasuke…" _She then placed one hand over the handkerchief that served as her hair tie, _"What have you done to me..?" _and with one tug, her hair was down again.

_You look beautiful with your hair down…_

_**To be continued…** _

* * *

_Next on Genjutsu: Mission 2: Pranks_

He twitched and glared at her when he heard her giggling. "What the hell is the meaning of this Sakura?!" she only laughed louder as more girls squealed and looked at Sasuke then back at the pictures they were looking. "He's so cute when he's sleeping! I wish he was my room mate!" He marched towards Sakura and dragged her to somewhere private. She only laughed, even when he slammed her against the wall, trapping her there as he activated his sharingan. "What did you do..?" he asked in a low and dangerous voice. She grinned. "I took a picture of you while you were sleeping and sold it to the girls here in Konoha for money."

* * *

_A/N: I know, Sasuke is too OOC for an ANBU and that he talks too much and such._


	2. Pranks

**Genjutsu**

She yawned and rubbed the sleep off of her eyes and continued playing with her priestess in Ragnarok. She's been hooked onto this game ever since her buddies introduced her to this. Although it was pretty boring to play on your own – her playmates weren't done with their homework while she was finish with hers ages ago. "I think I'll go to bed now…" she mumbled to herself, turning off the computer and about to hit the sack when a knock on her door prevented her from doing so.

Sighing, she trudged towards it, muttering to herself the pros and cons of having no dorm mate.

Pros:

More space  
No fighting over who gets the bed near the window or the one near the door  
No need to worry about the mess the roommate will leave  
No disturbance or distractions  
No one to share your pocky sticks with

Cons:

You have to get up to answer the phone or door  
No one to talk to on those lonely days  
Boring  
Cleaning the mess on your own when a small party occurs in your room  
No one to order around to buy you things  
No one to take your anger out on  
No one to help you on your worse subject: Cryptogram

She stopped herself from answering the door. _"Wow, never knew there were more cons…"_ She shrugged that off and turned the knob, pulled the door open and was about to open her mouth to greet her visitor but she ended up having to gape.

"Took you long enough." He muttered.

"What're you doing here Uchiha?!"

* * *

_**Chapter 2: Pranks**_

She stared, long and hard as he fixed his clothes in the spare drawers and closets. She could not believe that she was going to have him as a roommate. It was unlikely to happen! But still, the principal, or Hokage, has made sure that the pairs in every room would be of different sexes. Heck, he picked the partners himself to ensure safety and no early pregnancy to happen. Another reason he gave was so that the soon-to-be ninjas would be comfortable in doing daring missions which requires the female to be seductive to the male victim for luring, or the male to be able to charm the female victim to get information. It was a pretty good plan, but Sakura was sure not liking this idea now.

"Will you stop staring and just go to sleep?"

The jounin nearly jumped when he suddenly spoke yet still continued unpacking and organizing his things. She was pretty thankful that he was a neat and decent kind of guy, seeing how he had his shirts and shorts folded neatly, his uniform ironed and hung – most probably hand-washed too, seeing as there's not even a speck of dirt or any traces of stains left. Of course, she refused to peek at how he kept his underwear.

"Geez, stop that, it's annoying me."

Sakura looked at him to see the ANBU slightly glaring at her with an annoyed expression. Apparently, she did not get the hint that what she was doing was irritating him. He hated being stared at when he was doing something.

Without answering or saying anything, she sat up crossed-leg and hugged a pillow, still staring at her new companion.

"Um… you… you're really staying here..?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair which she concluded was a habit of his, seeing as how he did that most of the time during the day.

"Duh." He replied, going back to what he was doing.

"Yeah…" she murmured. "…why here?"

Sasuke finished unpacking and stood up with a towel hanging on one shoulder, one hand carrying his sleep clothes plus toothbrush before answering her.

"Sarutobi-san said that you were the only person left without a roommate. The only guy I know who's willing to trade places with me, in case I don't like my partner, is Lee-san, which in your case, would be bad, seeing as how he seems to be obsessed with you."

He noted her shudder at the mention of the boy's name and he couldn't help but smirk, even slightly.

"In any way, whether you're my roommate or not, I still wouldn't trade places with him, since I don't like his roommate."

"Namely..?"

She noticed him flinch and cringe as he twitched and turned his head to another direction. "…Karin."

"Oh, the other student who came here with you..?"

"Hn." He then made his way to the bathroom. "My sources tell me that she once said to herself that she wanted to ravage me in my sleep…" he added before closing the bathroom door behind him, missing the shocked look of the pink-haired Jounin.

"_Oh my god, I would so understand why Karin thought of that!" _her inner exclaimed, licking her lips seductively. Sakura shook her head a few times to get a naughty image of Sasuke out of her mind. When Ino said she was lucky about having an inner, she thought otherwise._"Gah! I need to occupy my mind with something else!" _she looked at the scroll on her desk that she literally dived to it and opened the contents. "Cryptogram, save me now!" she said to herself, reading the instructions and data written on the scroll.

"Okay, so to unlock the code, I'll need to assign each of these text with a letter and-" she cut herself off and twitched. "Argh! Why is this so freakin' harder than math?!"

Sasuke blinked and looked at the closed door of the bathroom when he heard Sakura scream in frustration. He sighed and finished brushing his teeth before stepping out of the room at the same time put on his shirt. Of course, Sakura noted this and caught a glimpse of his abs. "Shit." She hissed, blushing as she glared at the piece of parchment in her hands, her inner self replaying the way Sasuke got his clothes on.

"What're you doing?" he asked, standing behind her while he leaned forward to take a peek on what she held, his right palm pressed against her table's surface as he eyed the code written on the scroll. "C-Cryptogram." She stuttered, her face still beet red as she only realized now how close he was. _"Crap, I didn't even feel his chakra!" _

"Hn." He smirked. "This one's easy," he closed his eyes and turned around to get some sleep. "A really frustrating message for the student who finally gets the hang of it," He added, shaking his head a bit. "'Congratulations on decoding the message. You have now mastered Cryptogram.'"

Sakura stared, gaping at him as he sat on his own bed and turned to her when she felt her eyes on him.

"What?" he asked.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Decode the message with just a brief glance?!"

He smirked again, and she twitched. "I learned Cryptogram when I was still in elementary at Oto. A simple code like that only takes seconds for me to answer." He could tell that she couldn't believe what he said, so he sighed and lay down on his bed, closing his eyes. "Don't attempt to learn that tonight, especially if you really can't get it. It takes a lot more than forcing yourself to learn it."

"_He's right…" _she thought, closing the scroll and stretching her arms before heading for bed. "Hey, do you think you can…" she trailed off when she noted his even breathing, meaning that he had already fallen asleep._"Well, at least he doesn't snore." _She thought, shrugging, and climbed onto bed. Before she closed her eyes though, a thought came to her mind, and she couldn't help but grin at the idea.

* * *

Yawning, he got out of bed and rubbed one of his eyes. Without making much noise he took out his uniform and headed for the bathroom when he noted that Sakura was still asleep. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Sakura sat up and snickered a bit, taking out what looked like a digital camera. Next, she put on her socks and left, leaving a note in case Sasuke begins to suspect why she suddenly disappeared when she was still asleep when he woke up. She then sprinted towards the school's library and smiled at the librarian who returned the gesture.

She was fond of Sakura, especially since the girl borrowed books everyday and would make it a point to visit at least once a day.

"What can I do or you Sakura-chan?"

"Can you print me a thousand copies of this?" she showed the picture with an innocent smile as the librarian took the camera with a questioning look. Sakura only grinned. "It's a special task Kakashi-sensei assigned me in stalking. I'll need the extra credit to maintain my place in the honor roll since he gives low scores."

The woman understood her situation and quickly did as she was told, missing the evil look Sakura had on her face as she started imagining of what the outcome would be.

"Dear, may I ask how you're going to carry all of these?" the librarian asked behind her thick glasses.

"Oh, I have a bag for that." Sakura said, taking the bundle of papers and neatly placing them inside her messenger bag. "Thanks!" she paid for the amount and left, giggling all the while as she stopped in the middle of the front yard of the school, glad that majority of the students were already awake and doing their own thing. She was even happier at the fact that most of them were girls. With her hair tied up in a messy bun and forehead protector around her neck, she cupped her mouth with her hands and yelled in a really loud voice: "ANBU pictures for sale: Only 135 yen per copy!!"

Everyone turned their heads to her when she mentioned that she had ANBU pictures, so they hurriedly went to her to see the images that she had on her digital camera. "Sorry to say that I only have one model for this picture, however, I got a shot on his ANBU gears! And here they are!" she took out her laptop from its bag and connected the USB cable of the digital camera to the computer. "Here we have Uchiha Sasuke's weapons, all organized and thoroughly polished, see how shiny they are? Yep." Three guys paid for one picture each, and she handed the copies to them. "Next, we have…"

* * *

As he walked down the corridors of the school, he couldn't help but feel annoyed when the people he passed by stopped to look at him, some laughing, some staring in awe, and some having the look of envy or longing to be like him. Sasuke, having had enough of all this, turned his head to a genin who froze and sweat dropped, not knowing what to do when the ANBU narrowed his eyes on him. "Why is everyone giving me weird looks?" he asked in a monotone voice.

"I-I don't know!" the genin said.

"Don't you dare lie to me, I can tell when someone is telling the truth or not." Sasuke took a step closer to the genin who backed up against the wall, eyes seeking for help as Sasuke calmly glared at the younger ninja. "Now answer the question." He leaned closer to the boy, intimidating him further when the genin shook. "What's with all these looks they're giving?"

"H-Haruno-sempai…" he answered, looking down as Sasuke twitched and in a blink of an eye, jumped out of the window behind him. Hell, he was on the fourth floor!

The genin quickly looked outside and saw him dashing towards Sakura at the speed of what looked like a cheetah's, or possibly faster.

"Haruno!" he yelled.

Sakura saw him and smiled, waving enthusiastically. "Good morning Sa-su-ke-kuuuuuuuun!" she beamed.

He twitched and glared at her when he heard her giggling. "What the hell is the meaning of this Sakura?!" she only laughed louder as more girls squealed and looked at Sasuke then back at the pictures they were looking. "He's so cute when he's sleeping! I wish he was my room mate!" He marched towards Sakura and dragged her to somewhere private. She only laughed, even when he slammed her against the wall, trapping her there as he activated his sharingan. "What did you do..?" he asked in a low and dangerous voice. She grinned. "I took a picture of you while you were sleeping and sold it to the girls here in Konoha for money."

…

"YOU WHAT?!"

* * *

Kakashi looked at Sakura, then back at Sasuke as the two exchanged glares. Well, at least, one was glaring, the other was just grinning innocently.

"Are you two done with your seatwork?" he asked.

Sasuke and Sakura nodded without breaking eye contact. Apparently, Sasuke did not like what Sakura did.

"In that case, carry on." And he started to read the orange book that was tucked inside his vest's pocket, still aware if his students were cheating, sleeping or working on the problem he gave to them.

"For an ANBU from Oto, you sure are easy to catch." Sakura said with a smile.

Sasuke's brows furrowed even more. "Thanks for ruining my trust in you."

She blinked and tilted her head. "Trust?" and then grinned. "Thanks to your trust I became richer!"

She didn't seem to take note of how Sasuke got pissed, and she just continued babbling, in a soft voice of course, how she was victorious against him, how easy it was to take some shots of his gears and of himself – which was a best seller since the girls all bought the copies she had left, and even had some orders for tomorrow.

"…You're annoying."

Sakura stopped and looked at him.

He was no longer glaring at her, but had his head lowered, bangs covering his eyes as he remained silent afterwards, arms folded on top of his desk as he hunched forward, not in the mood to talk to anyone, but she sure had a guess that he wanted to have a spar right now to vent whatever he was feeling out. Oh well, who cares? As long as she got what she needed, it won't bother her.

Or so, she thinks…

* * *

"Come on Sasuke, smile for the camera!!"

He just ignored her and continued reading the thick book and the two scrolls on his bed, focusing on the task at hand instead of Sakura's voice.

"If you smile, I'll split the money! But of course, you'll only get ten percent since I really need it." She grinned. "Come on, flash those pearly whites! I know your teeth are white!"

…

"…I can sell these pictures to Karin so that she won't have to chase after you or stalk you just to ogle at you."

…

"I'll stop teasing you about being an ANBU if you smile!"

…

"I won't throw this pillow at you if you look at the camera and give a small grin."

…

"Oh for- I'll stop rummaging through your stuff if you just let me take a picture!"

…

"Just look here, damn it, and I won't force you to smile!"

…

"Fine, Ill take candid-"

She nearly yelped when he glared at her with sharingan eyes and threw a kunai at her, managing to knock the camera from her grip but not injuring her at the process. For a few seconds, she stared in awe at what he did with a mixture of shock and confusion. He only gave her one last glare before going back to his work. It was only then did she realize that her camera's lens cracked upon hitting the floor.

"Oh my god! You destroyed my camera!" she yelled, standing up. "Do you have any idea how much that costs?! My dad saved money to give me that on the day I became a genin!"

"Oh gee, I feel sorry for you." He said sarcastically, not even looking up to see the damage.

Sakura clenched her fists and yelled, jumping on him as she pulled her hand back, ready to punch. He countered by quickly flipping her, reversing their positions as he held her wrists above her head with one hand, the other having a kunai near her neck.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was fast, and she didn't even expect that he already had a kunai. The holster wasn't anywhere near him, and there weren't even pockets on his pants and shirt. She glared at him, seeing her image being reflected in his red eyes. He leaned down to her ear and whispered in a dangerous tone: "Attack me like that one more time and I won't hesitate to slash this," he pressed the kunai against her neck, making sure it didn't go any deeper so that she won't get a cut or a gash. "Across your throat to slit it and end your life." He then got off of her and grabbed a jacket, putting it on as he stepped out, not bothering to say where he was going.

She sat up after a few moments and tried to recover from the shock. Even though it seemed like he threatened her, she couldn't prevent the shiver that ran up her spine when he whispered in her ear. His breath just gave her goose bumps, and whether she she'd say it out loud or not, she liked the feeling of being under him. But his eyes…

"…_Why did it… look like that?" _she thought, recalling how he glared at her. It wasn't a murderous look, nor was it out of anger, but more on… disappointment perhaps? Or sorrow?

Shaking her head, she quickly stood up and grabbed her coat, locking the door behind her as she ran after the faint trail of chakra Sasuke had. It wasn't that hard to do, since for some strange reason, he didn't bother to hide it.

* * *

The stars seemed to be a lot brighter than usual that night, and he sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned the back of his head on the wall behind him, his back pressed against the cold stone wall, his right leg pulled up where his right arm rested, his left leg folded on the floor as his left hand rested on the ground where he sat on. He heard the door to the rooftop open, and he knew, from the chakra's signature, that it was Sakura. With that, he masked his own energy and opened his eyes when she stopped upon reaching his side.

"…I had a feeling you'd run after me." He muttered, not looking up.

Sakura didn't wait for him to invite her to sit down, so she just dropped to the floor next to him and hugged her knees together, remaining silent as they both didn't speak.

She glanced at him discreetly from the corner of her eyes, lowering her arms to her sides, her right hand just a few centimeters away from his left hand, wondering if there'll be a chance for their fingers to brush against each other, even if it would only be for a few seconds. _"God, I'm acting like a stupid fangirl!" _she thought, inwardly shaking her head as she forced down the blush that was about to come out.

"Um…" she began, turning her head slightly to him as he stared at the stars. "I'm sorry if… you feel…" she trailed off. "Well, whatever it is you're feeling. I just didn't think it would piss you off like that."

Sasuke closed his eyes first before replying. "Hn."

Deciding not to push her luck into forcing him to say something more, she continued. "I'm really sorry; I never knew you trusted me that much already." She forced a weak smile and looked at him, causing him to glance at her. "Sorry if you feel like I betrayed you or something."

Those eyes…

Whenever he looks into those orbs, he feels the anger, hatred and depression inside of him fleeting. He didn't know what this jounin had that made him feel so human, that made him seem so vulnerable. It pissed him off, at the same time, attracted him to her. Not in the romantic way of course, but he often finds himself wanting to just sit with her, in silence or not, since she seemed to be fond of talking, as long as it was her company that he shared.

Realizing that he had been staring for too long, he slapped himself in his mind, cursing as he quickly looked away, a faint blush on his cheeks, which he hid with his long bangs.

"Forget it." He said. "I just reacted too negatively."

"Well, even though you shouldn't have gone too far with destroying my camera," she sighed. "I guess you had the right to act like that, I was pushing your buttons after all." She smiled. "So, truce?" she offered him a hand to shake, which he slowly took, not even saying anything in return as they shook on it, Sakura beaming. "Come on, it's getting late." She said, standing up. Sasuke stayed still for a while before following her lead.

* * *

This was the last straw.

She grinned at him, even when he glared at her. The girls in their class all giggled, staring at the photos they had in their hands, glancing at Sasuke from time to time and squealing with glee.

"What?" she asked innocently.

Sasuke just remained silent and threw his bag on the floor before sitting down. Sakura shrugged and began counting her money. Seeing as Kakashi had not yet arrived, she stood up.

"Alright! 150 yen for these!" She yelled, bringing up at least three photos in which Sasuke was changing his shirt, another wherein he just got out of the bathroom topless, and the last one was of him kneeling down on one knee to get a shirt from his drawers, his boxers slightly showing since his pants lowered a bit.

"Oh my god! He's so hot!" a girl yelled as she and her friends began squealing.

Sakura continued selling, her business booming that she did not note how her victim had broken the pen he was holding due to the force he applied.

* * *

The photo selling went on for a week, and she was happily counting how much she earned out of it. "This will be enough to cover for it for another three months…" she said to herself, taking a backpack where she put the money in. She then got up and walked out the door, bumping into Sasuke at the process. "Oh, I was just on my way out, you want anything?" she asked with a smile. He just ignored her and stepped inside the room, slamming the door behind him. She sighed and looked down. _"Sorry, Sasuke... but… I really need the money…" _she felt bad for having to use him, but she really needed it now, or else…

Shaking her head, she quickly dashed out of school, unknown to her, Sasuke was tailing after her with great stealth and agility.

"_What are you up to?" _he asked her in his mind, watching from a tree branch as she entered a hospital. His eyes narrowed a bit in confusion before he bit his thumb, drawing out blood and did a few hand seals, summoning a falcon. He let it perch on his right shoulder as he closed his eyes and opened them to activate the sharingan. His eyes began to see through the walls of the building, seeing so many chakra patterns. He quickly searched for Sakura's, and when he found her, he sent the falcon to the floor she was headed to.

"_This is going to take a lot of chakra…" _he then did more complicated hand seals. As soon as the falcon had itself perch on a higher tree branch wherein it was able to see Sakura through a patient's window, the bird's eyes turned to the sharingan, enabling Sasuke to see through the winged creature's point of view. Next, he evenly distributed chakra to his and the falcon's ears, giving him the ability to hear what Sakura and the doctor were talking about.

This jutsu was a hidden technique that only selected ANBU members from Oto, or so he heard, learn and master. He was one of the rare prodigies that showed potential to master the skill, and so, Orochimaru personally trained him.

* * *

"How is she doctor?" Sakura asked, her eyes looking solemn as she looked at the woman who had the same shade of hair as her, lying on the bed, comatose. The man clad in all white gave a sad look at Sakura before tearing his gaze away from the Jounin. "Good news is we can keep her alive longer, but she still won't show any signs of waking up." He sighed at this. "That accident she took was greater than I thought."

"I see…" Sakura murmured, taking a chair and dragging it beside the bed of the patient before she sat on it. The doctor, seeing as the teen no longer had anymore questions, took his leave.

"Hey mom…" Sakura whispered, a pained smile on her lips. "Sorry I haven't visited you for a month now, I've been busy trying to earn enough money to pay for your bills." She looked down. "I know you'll hate me for this, but I used someone to earn that much money in just a span of one week," she looked up at the woman. "But I really needed to, it was my last resort! Or they would…" she trailed off, shutting her eyes as tears began to spill. "…cut your life support that would lead to your death." She wiped the tears away. "I'm sure Sasuke would understand once I explain it to him, but now's not the right time. Even if he'll hate me some more, it's okay, I won't mind, right now, it's important that I keep you alive."

Another sigh. "I just hope the Hokage will give me a mission soon, I really need to get more money to fully cover your hospital bills until you wake up." She reached out to touch her mother's hand. "Dad's already gone because he protected us, while you protected me from that accident. I don't know what I'll do if… you…"

He ended the jutsu, unable to handle the rest as he shut his eyes tight and leaned his head against the bark of the tree. He gave a whistle, calling his falcon back, giving it a treat before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. _"Sakura…"_he thought, looking up at where the girl was. He then got up and began making his way back to the school.

* * *

She was surprised when he threw a scroll at her that she blinked when he pointed with his head at her desk. "Sit down so that we can get to work on that cryptogram skill of yours."

"Eh..?"

"You suck at it," he muttered. "So I have no choice but to teach you how to decode messages."

"But-"

"Just sit down before I change my mind."

Sakura did and she wondered what caused such a sudden change. "Listen carefully because I won't be repeating myself, okay?" she gave a nod, and as he spoke to her, explaining the rules and what not to do in decoding, she couldn't properly concentrate, because right now, she really felt relaxed as he taught her. The way he spoke clearly and how he explained in short details what to do. "Alright, let's see if you can get this message." He spread out a small scroll and she quickly got to work on the secret message.

He smirked in satisfaction when she solved it in only a few minutes. They continued to work on difficult problems, Sakura beginning to understand the lesson that she wondered what made it so hard in the first place.

"So now, you have to-"

"Why?" she asked, cutting him off as he looked down at her since he was standing behind her and just leaning down while she was seated. "Why the sudden change of mood..? I was using you to gain money, and yet…"

He couldn't tell her that he spied on her; that would mean he invaded her privacy. Besides, he wanted her to tell him for herself someday, so right now, he'll need to come up with an alibi. "It's better than having to ignore you during my stay here. Besides, I doubt you'll ever stop taking pictures of me." He shrugged nonchalantly. "And you're getting more annoying every night whenever you cry out in frustration for not getting it."

A small smile made its way to her lips, and she soon giggled and looked up at him while he looked down at her. "You're really a complicated person Sasuke, but thanks anyway."

He wasn't sure if it was the way her lips curved or the way her eyes twinkled that made him want to just stay there and stare at her like this, the feeling of just being content with what he was doing. He never knew such a feeling existed, because to him, he was never contented with what he did, he always strived to be the best, he always made sure to go beyond what he reached, but now, he just felt like staying put, because even if the photos she took of him started out as a prank to annoy him until it became a business for her, it only drew him closer to the female jounin.

"Sasuke..?" she called out, blinking.

His eyes softened as he continued to stare at her. "You really are… annoying…"

_**To be continued…** _

* * *

_Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 3: Date_

"Why would I want to show him around town?" she asked the principal with a scowl on her face. Sarutobi smiled in an amused way. "He is your roommate _and_permanent partner for as long he stays here." Sakura twitched. "And besides," he added, leaning forward as his eyes showed a bit of mischief. "I know for a fact that you like him." Sakura opened her mouth to protest but found out that she couldn't. "You can consider this as a date if you want." They looked at the doorway to see Sasuke standing there, a cocky smirk on his face, his arms crossed and his posture straight yet leaning against the door frame of the principal's office, one leg crossed over the other. "When did you get here..?" Sakura asked, embarrassed at the fact that he heard what Sarutobi said. "Just now," he noted her sigh in relief. "Just in time to know that you like me..." And she felt like her world just crumbled.

* * *

_A/N: This chapter's shorter than the last one. Oh well, I hope this would satisfy you for the time being._


	3. Date

_A/N: For those who were interested in my idea of a military cross over of Naruto the PS3 game: Resistance: fall of man, go to Nameless Blossom and read the story of "The Perfect Soldier". Thank you!_

* * *

**Genjutsu**

"You called for me, sensei?"

"Oh, Sakura," Sarutobi motioned the girl to enter and close the door. "Yes, I did." He closed the opened drawer of his desk to properly talk to the female Jounin. "I need you to do me a favor; it's somewhat like a D-rank mission."

Sakura's eyebrows rose. "D-rank mission..? Why me?" her inner twitched._"I'm a freakin' Jounin old man!"_

"Well, the Genin are preparing for their Chuunin test, and the Chuunin are reviewing for their Jounin exams, so…"

"Okay, I get it, but why me?" again, her inner flared. _"You think I'm weak?!"_

Sarutobi gave a not-so good smile. "Because it involves your partner…"

"…Sasuke? What about him?"

"Since he came from Otogakure, he is not familiar with Konohagakure." He noted how Sakura gave a nod. "Therefore, whenever he goes out of the school's vicinity to take a walk or possibly buy something, he won't know where to go or how to come back."

She didn't seem to like where this was going.

"So I want you to tour him around the place."

Silence…

Until Sakura had registered what the principal just said.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Date**_

"Why would I want to show him around town?" she asked the principal with a scowl on her face. Sarutobi smiled in an amused way. "He is your roommate _and_permanent partner for as long he stays here." Sakura twitched. "And besides," he added, leaning forward as his eyes showed a bit of mischief. "I know for a fact that you like him." Sakura opened her mouth to protest but found out that she couldn't. "You can consider this as a date if you want." They looked at the doorway to see Sasuke standing there, a cocky smirk on his face, his arms crossed and his posture straight yet leaning against the door frame of the principal's office, one leg crossed over the other. "When did you get here..?" Sakura asked, embarrassed at the fact that he heard what Sarutobi said. "Just now," he noted her sigh in relief. "Just in time to know that you like me..." And she felt like her world just crumbled.

"Well, since Sasuke's here, the two of you can take the day off and start seeing the sights - for Sasuke at least."

"But what about my classes?!" Sakura argued, standing up and slamming a hand down on Sarutobi's desk. "Don't I get a say in this?!"

The principal merely closed his eyes. "First, you're excused from all your classes for the day, but you'll need to take home some Cryptogram work since that is the only subject you don't seem to do well in. For your second question, no, you don't get a say in this because of one: I am the principal, or preferably, the Hokage, so what I say, goes. Lastly, it's a mission I assigned to you. Therefore, rejection is not an option."

Oh how she wanted to wipe that smirk off of Sasuke's face – especially since it only broadened when Sarutobi said that she had no choice at all.

* * *

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Sakura asked herself.

Sasuke glanced at her, seeing how her hair was still tied to a ponytail and the forehead protector still covered her neck. "I guess it's because of the fact that you sold my pictures even after saying you promise not to do so anymore."

"Shut up."

"Hn," he looked at her. "How about a bet?"

"…what kind of bet?"

"A bet that gets you to let your hair down for as long as I'm here; and your forehead protector to be placed on your head as a headband…"

Sakura twitched. "What do I have to do?"

"Make sure I don't get a picture of you."

"And if I win?"

"…I do whatever you say."

It was a tempting offer, especially if Sakura can order the ANBU around. "So if I can avoid your shots, you'll do whatever I want you to do?"

"Aa."

"Alright," she offered a hand shake to seal the bet. "You're on."

"Here's the deal," Sasuke added. "I have a week to take your picture, just one picture. And if I do, you will no longer tie your hair." He looked at her forehead protector. "And that will have to serve as your headband."

"A week huh?" she smirked. "You're so confident."

"Hn." He took a kunai out of his holster and made a shallow cut on his palm.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"It's the ANBU way to seal a deal, this means I'm _that_serious." Sakura sighed, knowing that she had to do the same. Iruka-sensei did teach them how deals were made between ninjas. "Deal." She had her blood mix with his as they shook hands. When they were done, she healed her cut while he healed his. After all, how can one become an ANBU if one does not know how to perform basic first aid?

"So, when does your self-proclaimed mission start?" she turned to him and gasped when he already had his camera that she quickly ducked as a flash was made. He looked at the digital camera display the blurry image of her hair. "Hn, does that answer your question?" he smirked, and she couldn't believe that she got into this mess.

* * *

"I am at a total disadvantage!" she yelled, dodging every shot he made, at the same time, tour him around.

"Tch. The battery is about to die…" he muttered to himself, seeing the signal that indicated a low battery. Sakura panted a few feet away from him, glaring at his smirking face. "Damn you, bastard." She cursed, straightening herself up, only to fall back when he made another click of his camera. "At least let me catch my breath first!" she yelled, rolling over to the side when he attempted another one.

"Hn. You're a ninja, when you're in a mission, time should not be wasted. Besides," he made another try but she evaded. "An enemy ninja wouldn't give you a break when pursuing."

Sakura twitched and groaned. "I hate you."

"Back at 'ya." He smirked. "Cherry."

"Stop calling me that!"

Frustrated, she jumped over a tall wall, running as far away from him as possible. Sasuke merely smirked, knowing very well what she intended to do:

Get him lost in Konohagakure.

* * *

Sakura jumped down and panted, seeing how the sun was beginning to set. "Guess I'll head back." She murmured to herself, deciding to walk back to Konoha Academy. Although, upon reaching there, her eyes only widened when she spotted Sasuke leaning against the tall gates of the school with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"How the hell did you get back here?!"

He smirked and turned to her, at the same time, open his eyes to reveal the sharingan.

"I did not become an ANBU for nothing, Cherry." And he shifted his eyes back to its original color. "So, luckily for you, I need to charge my camera again." He noted how she sighed in relief at that. "Anyway, while you were busy trying to go as far away from me as possible in hopes of getting me lost, I took the liberty of purchasing a map and memorizing it with these eyes." He straightened himself up. "Aside from that," he pocketed his hands. "As I made my way back here, I had my sharingan activated the whole time. So there's no way I'll be lost in this place."

"Damn." She hissed.

"Hn. You look like you could use a drink." He smirked and turned his back to her, head slightly tilted to her direction. "Come on."

"And why should I?"

"Because the gates are currently locked, and from what I remember, it won't be open until eight in the evening, when night classes begin for the genin to get used to the dark."

She slapped her forehead, cursing at her stupidity for forgetting about that information.

"And where will you be leading me?" she asked.

Sasuke gave an amused smirk. "You're learning." He said to himself, her unable to catch that. "You know, you can just refuse if you don't trust me." And he began to walk away. "However, I wonder how you'll get that growling stomach of yours to shut up when you don't have your wallet right now. Oh yeah, judging from your looks, you're far from satiated."

Sakura flushed when she felt her stomach complaining. And when she checked her skirt's pocket, her wallet wasn't there. "But… I know I took it with me!"

"You did," Sasuke said, raising a familiar object to her as he turned his head to show her his smirk. "But without you noticing, I managed to get it."

"Why you little-"

"Take it as a lesson, at least now, you'll be more aware." And he tossed it back to her. "Now stop asking so many questions and just come with me."

"Hah. As if, now that I have my wallet back."

Sasuke shook his head.

"Suit yourself."

* * *

_Growl…_

Sakura glared at the cement floor beneath her as she sat there, hugging her knees close to her chest while the light pouring rain decided to give her a shower. Her fists were clenched tightly. She couldn't believe that Sasuke would do this to her.

"You coming or what?"

Speak of the devil…

She felt the rain stop, and a shadow loomed over her. Raising her head, she noted how he removed his white polo and used it to shield her from the rain, causing him to kneel down on one knee before her to be able to do so.

"You're really annoying." He said. "And stubborn."

"…shut up." She muttered, still not moving from her place, her eyes looking down to avoid eye contact, since he was just centimeters away from her face, and since he was just as wet as her, albeit wetter since he had nothing to cover him now, her inner self continued squealing at how he looked.

"Hn. I know you're hungry."

"Give me my money back…"

"I will if you come with me."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I can do whatever I want," he offered her a hand. "And besides, I did say this can be considered as a date."

* * *

And she had no idea, whether it was because of her stomach, or because of how he managed to convince her. Whatever it was, she was glad that she was sitting here next to him in a convenience store. The clear-glass window, stained with water droplets since the clouds had decided to cry harder, in front of them. And as she slowly and silently took small sips from her peppermint flavored tea, she couldn't help but blush at the realization that hit her: his white polo was draped over her shoulder, while he just stared boringly at the passers-by outside, his chin resting on his left palm, head tilted to the left slightly while he let his coffee cool for a bit in order to drink the liquid, all the while having his right hand hold onto her left one.

"…You're really a complicated person…" she said after a long period of silence, only deciding then to intertwine her fingers with his, since his were already grasping onto hers tightly, both hands resting on top of the table she ate on. "I just don't understand why I like you."

It was only when she glanced at him did she notice that he was looking at her.

"Hn." He managed to reply, looking down at their intertwined fingers. "You warm yet?"

She gave a small smile. "Yeah, but I'd like to keep our position like this until the rain stops."

Sighing and also letting out the tiniest hint of a grin, he turned back to look outside. "Whatever, just don't tell any of your friends about this."

"Why is that?"

"If this ever goes through Karin's ears, I won't be held responsible for your trip to the hospital." He stopped. "Although, if you were able to keep up with me in sparring, then I guess it's her who would be sent to the infirmary."

An amused grin made its way to her lips.

"Wouldn't that be a favor to you?"

"Yeah, it would."

And that, Sakura mused, was probably one of the reasons why she felt so attracted to him, at the same time, so annoyed at his presence.

Uchiha Sasuke was complex, and she, in a way, wanted to figure him out.

* * *

"Alright class, this time, we're going to try out a different approach." Kakashi began. "And in order to do so, Anko-sensei here will be helping out, specifically the girls in this class and the one she handles."

Sasuke twitched when he noticed (from his peripheral vision) that Karin was in Anko's class. What made it worse was that she gave a seductive look to him, and he had to hold the urge to puke.

"Sasuke, you alright..?"

He turned to the girl seated beside him on the ground as he gave a nod, looking back at Kakashi as he made a mental note that his bet with her was still not over. _"I have to catch her off-guard…" _he reminded himself, snapping from his thoughts when his male teacher finished his slightly long speech.

"What the fuck..?" he voiced out, loud enough to be heard by everyone who had beet red faces. "They're only Jounin and you're planning to teach them _that_technique?" Sasuke scowled when he asked that to his current teacher. "Are you out of your mind, Kakashi?" so much for respect.

Kakashi merely chuckled as Anko gave an interested smirk at the Oto ANBU student.

"Well, Sasuke," Kakashi spoke. "The Hokage has decided to keep up with the other schools. And since there are only about six to ten ANBU ranked ninjas we have here, he decided that this reserved tactic should be taught to Jounin ranked ninjas as well. After all, they can also be given an A-rank mission if needed."

The young Uchiha's expression didn't change as he stood up. "You can't do this to them, they're not yet ready for this. It's too sudden."

"I don't think so," Anko said, shaking her head. "I mean, you lived from it when you were still a Chuunin." She grinned when Sasuke raised a brow, silently asking how she knew that tidbit. "I checked your records. And besides, Orochimaru was once my mentor."

"That aside," Sasuke murmured as he glanced at his classmates. "Judging from their reactions, specifically the girls, they'll only feel uncomfortable towards each other. You should've done this while they were still Chuunin then!"

Anko raised a brow. "Could it be that you're growing fond of them?" a cheeky grin was plastered on her face.

Sasuke didn't seem to be affected by that joke.

"Whether I am or am not, it still doesn't change the fact that they are not ready to seduce the opposite sex."

"Oh, I get it." Kakashi grinned. "You're afraid to show us your skills! You're embarrassed that you can't even seduce!"

The ANBU twitched and glared at Kakashi, aware of how both classes were staring intently at him and at the teachers.

"That's where you're wrong, _sensei_." He said, his tone cold. "While it is true that I am embarrassed to do that tactic, I am very much capable of getting the target to give out information, whether it's a he or a she."

Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to look sharply at Sasuke. _"Wait, does that mean he also tried to seduce guys?! What the hell?!"_

Kakashi blinked amusedly. "You're brave enough to approach homosexuals? Wow," he whistled. "Aren't you afraid they'll rape you?" he chuckled girlishly.

A sigh came from the Uchiha. "Seriously, yes, but it's not like I can't kick their ass." He muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Point of the matter is, this is too sudden for them."

By them, he meant the jounin.

"Even Karin?" Anko asked.

"No. Like what you said, I've been trained to do this when I was still a Chuunin, and the same goes for her and the other Oto ninjas." Sasuke answered, annoyed that these two still did not reconsider his argument. He came to that kind of conclusion upon seeing their reactions. It was the same thing when he was still a Genin, the moment it was announced that they will learn that trick. Yet due to so many students passing out, females getting early pregnancies due to rampaging hormones of the male body, and add to that a traumatic incident for the young ninjas, it didn't really become a success. He was just glad that before his turn ever came, he was spared from it all, until he became a Chuunin.

"Then, when do you think will they be ready?" Kakashi asked.

"You should first try educating them about what that book of yours contains. If you get what I mean."

Anko slapped Kakashi's head. "You still read that even when the Hokage requested you not to in front of the transfer ninjas?!"

"Hey, I couldn't help it." Kakashi shrugged. "Anyway, you've made good points Sasuke - however, this is _the_ Hokage's orders." He grinned. "But since you're so worried about them, I give you the task to train them yourself, and of course," he turned to Karin. "Since she has undergone this specific strategy, she will be assisting you."

"Are you fucking serious?!" Both Sasuke and Karin exclaimed. One had a horrified look on his face while the other had such an enthusiastic expression.

"Yes." Anko answered for Kakashi. "He is."

The two teachers were specifically glancing at Sakura, amused at how she subtly fumed at the idea.

"Sorry to say," Sasuke muttered, making Karin stop from her victory dance. "But I believe that teaching them the art of seduction will not be successful since Karin does not need to be seduced when confronted by me…" he glared at the whining Karin. "I think you know why, sensei."

"Hmm…" Anko nodded. "He's right Kakashi."

"In that case," Kakashi looked around. "I think Sakura will be a formidable partner."

"W-what?! Why me?!"

"You are his partner after all, for the time being." Anko reminded. "Now get up here and assist our ANBU."

Sasuke, with a sigh, didn't bother to argue, even when Sakura was hoping he would.

* * *

She couldn't believe what just happened a while ago. It was a really, really awkward moment. Sasuke had never looked so damn hot and she had to think of negative thoughts just to prevent herself from giving in too easily. But she had to admit, Sasuke was a good seducer. With his godly looks and heavenly – err… deep and suave voice, add to that the smooth moves and unique style of pick-up lines, she really ended up turning beet red.

"You could've just said no."

Sakura glared at him when he spoke from his bed.

"Are you stupid..?" she muttered. "You are an ANBU, I'm just a Jounin. You had the final say due to our ranks. Why didn't you just reasoned out again?!"

He smirked. And she did not like it.

"Why should I?"

She turned redder when he was suddenly hovering above her on her bed, and she felt so helpless under those eyes.

"I already knew from the beginning that you'd love the experience."

She expected something to happen, but nothing did. It was only when she blinked did she realized that he was too fast for her.

"Go to sleep." He said from his side of the bed, back facing her. "The Hokage needs to see us first thing in the morning."

She didn't bother to reply and just pulled the covers over her body, her face still flushed from the previous incident. His face was so close to hers, almost looking like he was going to kiss her – with the way his onyx eyes looked at her so intently. She briefly wondered if he did that out of fun or because he really wanted to. Whatever reason, she was indeed glad that she had an up-close experience.

"Damn you." She hissed, and was responded by a smirk, though she could not see it. "Damn you and your – ugh. Just… damn you!"

"Hn."

* * *

Sarutobi looked up when the two ninjas he was expecting had entered, bowing respectfully first before he nodded and motioned them to take a seat.

"I take it that Sakura now knows how to seduce?"

"Yes sir, and you were right in pairing her up with Sasuke."

"Well then, Kakashi, if that is your opinion, then thank you." He turned to the other ninja, Anko. "And what do you think?"

"She's ready sir. And if there comes a time that she would be on the brink of failing or experiencing another trauma, Uchiha can take care of her."

The Hokage nodded at this as he took out a scroll and two folders from his drawer. "Kakashi, please call Uchiha. I need to talk to him first regarding this matter."

The addressed Jounin raised his visible brow. "Right now, sir?"

"Yes. It may be the dead of the night, but as an ANBU, he will know that this is urgent."

And so, Kakashi gave one last bow before teleporting out of the office, directly popping in front of the dorm of Sasuke and Sakura. With a sigh, he knocked three times, loud enough to be heard by one of the two occupants but soft enough to not disturb the other ninjas in the other dorm rooms.

He was glad that he didn't need to repeat the knocking when the door opened, and he was even happier that it was Sasuke who had woke up from the knock. "You a light sleeper?" Kakashi asked in an amused tone.

Sasuke sighed and fully opened the door. "What is it?"

"Well, after you put a shirt on first, head over to the principal's office. He has something to discuss with you." And without saying anything else, Kakashi left with a puff of smoke.

Sasuke turned back to grab a shirt from his drawer, pulled it on and exited the door, making sure he had his key and that he locked it. Knowing Sakura, it took a loud bang on the door to ever wake her up.

_**To be continued…** _

* * *

_Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 4: Bond_

She did not dare to look at him, even as he placed a hand on her cheek to push away her wet bangs that clung to her face. And as he looked around with a glare, it was clearly evident how pissed off he was when he yelled at the other students who were surrounding them.

"Who the hell did this?!"

And his tone, it was obvious that it held something close to anger – rather, it was due to wrath. He was very irritated at the idea of someone pushing her into the pool, even though the whole school knew that she was not a good swimmer, and that she feared water so much. Yet what made her sink deep into her thoughts was when Sasuke had slammed the culprit against the wall by grasping onto her neck, lifting her up from the floor as if ready to kill her. And it did not help lessen the tension since his sharingan was activated and directly glaring at the student who was none other than Karin.


	4. Bonds

**Genjutsu**

He looked at the file in his hands, his eyes breezing through the words printed on the sheets. Slowly, he raised his head to give the principal a look that meant he wanted more details – for he was able to tell that there was something behind this mission that the Hokage before him was not telling. Call it his instincts, since he's relied on it for so many times and has never been wrong about it.

Sarutobi closed his eyes while his clasped hands hid his expression from the ANBU.

"It's going to be her first A-rank mission, and if ever you run across the 'Kokuzoku', it'll turn into an S-rank one."

"Hokage-sama," he began. "The Kokuzoku are too dangerous, it's risky to take this mission with her. She lacks the experience."

"Sasuke," Sarutobi opened his eyes and looked at him straight in the eye. "As what you said, this is a risky mission, therefore, it is crucial for you to go alone, what's more is, you'll need a medic. You'll never know the dangers ahead of you, and Sakura happens to be the best medic we have to offer in this school. She is the pride of the school, aside from the genius, Shikamaru."

The Uchiha didn't seem to be too convinced at the idea, nor did he like it. He was concerned about his partner, because even if he was an ANBU from Oto, he was still human, and humans have emotions. Even if he has to cast this aside, he can't help but worry for his comrade's life – he's always been like that whenever he gets a mission, which is why he preferred solo ones. Apparently, his fear hasn't been overcome just yet; his fear of-

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

-losing someone he loves.

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Bonds**_

"Did you hear?"

He splashed water on his face as he let the droplets trickle down to his chin, some of his wet bangs clung to his skin as he glanced at the two guys talking from the corner of his eyes.

"About what..?"

"About some girl planning to teach Haruno a lesson..."

"A lesson on what..?"

His friend slapped a hand on his forehead. "You're so slow man! Some girl is gonna teach Haruno to swim!"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

And as the two passed by behind him, his eyes never left his reflection on the mirror, even when some of the words they mentioned rang through his head.

"Good thing? I heard it's not what we'd think it'll be! It's a spar challenge!"

And before they could get out of the comfort room, Sasuke had grabbed one of them by the back of his collar's shirt and had him against the wall, not too hard or too soft, but enough to get the Jounin-leveled ninja to panic slightly.

"Where..?" The ANBU asked with his eyes narrowing as they threatened to shift to red.

* * *

She glared and wiped the blood that trickled down from her lips. Her eyes showed no mercy at her opponent who stood tall and unscathed. This Konoha Jounin was really as good as they say she was, and it made her wonder why she hasn't reached ANBU level yet. She can see the potential this girl had, and yet, there was something that Konoha didn't see that made them not rank her as an ANBU. 

"I warned you," her opponent said. "Once you make the first attack, I will not hesitate to fight back, Oto ninja or not."

She spat blood out and got back on her feet, delivering chakra to the soles of her shoes in order to not sink into the deep pool of the Academy.

"_Haruno Sakura," _she thought. _"Top ranked Jounin, smartest Kunoichi, best medic ninja in the school, good at taijutsu and genjutsu, but most of all," _she gritted her teeth. _"She has perfect chakra control."_ She twitched at the status this girl had. It was no wonder why Sasuke seemed to show too much interest in her. She was unlike any other ninja he has met.

"Karin, was it?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"I've heard about you from Sasuke," she narrowed her green orbs at the Oto ninja. "Normally, I wouldn't agree with him when it comes to judging people, but I guess this time, I'll make an exception."

"What?!" Karin immediately charged as they engaged themselves into hand-to-hand combat. Without Sakura noticing, Karin had made two clones of herself and had them attack Sakura from behind.

The pink-haired Jounin countered by spinning around to deliver a punch and a kick, making the two clones disappear; although she wasn't able to evade Karin's next attack, when the Oto Jounin swiped her feet from below, causing Sakura to fall on her back on the water. Grunting, Sakura attempted to get up, only to end up blocking Karin's kick that was supposed to send her below the water.

Wait.

Water..?

Sakura's eyes widened at the realization that she was lying on the surface of the pool, and somehow, due to her sudden shock and fear paralysis, Karin's kick broke through and delivered Sakura's body down to the depths.

"I win." Karin said with a smirk, it disappearing when she noted the gasps around her. She looked at the ninjas who were murmuring to each other, and Karin quickly looked down, wondering why Sakura hasn't surfaced yet.

"What's going on?" she said to herself, turning to the other ninjas as she made her way through the crowd, asking what was wrong.

Before anyone could answer her, she sensed a familiar chakra make a dive towards the pool. She looked, seeing only the white polo on the floor near the water, and when she heard coughing, she quickly looked to see Sasuke carrying Sakura like a groom would to his bride. He was standing on the surface of the water, looking at Sakura worriedly as she tried to get the water out of her system, her body slightly shivering – whether from the cold or from fear.

"_Wait. Haruno is afraid of water?" _Karin didn't know that. Sure she treated Sakura as a rival for Sasuke's attention, but she didn't really mean to drown her. Sakura didn't even show the slightest hint of fear when they were sparring. Except that time when she made the last kick to send the pink-haired girl to her defeat. _"Oh crap, she's a Jounin and she can't swim? What the hell is this school doing with these ninjas?!"_

"Sakura," he called, gently settling her down on the floor, him kneeling on one knee before her as he draped his white polo over her shoulders, to which she quickly pulled to herself, seeking warmth and safety after nearly drowning. She was still shaking from the experience. "Sakura." He called again. "It's okay, you're safe now."

She did not dare to look at him, even as he placed a hand on her cheek to push away her wet bangs that clung to her face. And as he looked around with a glare, it was clearly evident how pissed off he was when he yelled at the other students who were surrounding them.

"Who the hell did this?!"

And his tone, it was obvious that it held something close to anger – rather, it was due to wrath. He was very irritated at the idea of someone pushing her into the pool, even though the whole school knew that she was not a good swimmer, and that she feared water so much. Yet what made her sink deep into her thoughts was when Sasuke had slammed the culprit against the wall by grasping onto her neck, lifting her up from the floor as if ready to kill her. And it did not help lessen the tension since his sharingan was activated and directly glaring at the student who was none other than Karin.

"What the hell is your problem?!" he yelled at her, his grip on her neck tightening.

Karin struggled and tried to talk to explain, but she wasn't able to since he wouldn't seem to let her at all.

"S-Sasuke…"

He glanced at Sakura who slowly stood up, finally looking at him in the eye.

"Let her go, let her explain. Let _me_explain."

The ANBU seemed to be hesitant, but he eventually let Karin go as the Oto student coughed, slid down to the ground and breathed for air. Sasuke then turned back to Sakura, his eyes telling her that he was listening.

"We had a spar, nothing serious. Just some kind of training." She said with a shrug, unable to notice that her hair was down after she nearly drowned earlier. Besides, who would take note of the looks the other guys were giving her when she was busy trying to tell the story? "Karin didn't know I can't swim, nor does she know my fear of water. I mean," she gave a bitter smile. "What kind of a Jounin am I? Anybody would think that for me to be able to reach this level, I should know how to swim or resurface at least."

Sasuke sighed afterwards.

"I was too shocked to help her out, that instead of diving to her, I ended up asking around what was wrong." Karin spoke from below as they turned their attention to her. "I just wanted to see how good she really was, and I admit, she would've won if fear didn't take over her." She looked at Sakura in the eye, removing her glasses at the process. "I'm sorry."

Sakura blinked, surprised at what happened before giving a small smile and a nod.

Karin returned the gesture, albeit smaller, before observing how Sasuke bonked Sakura's head playfully, scolding the girl like an older brother would. Yet she knew what was behind those actions that Uchiha Sasuke was showing. It was obvious that he cared for Sakura, and there's a possibility that she could be the one he's unconsciously been looking – no, _longing_ for all this time. At this, Karin gave a defeated smile and stood up, turning her back to them. _"I lost," _she thought, glancing back at Sakura as Sasuke dragged her away from the scene, noticing the blush on the Jounin's face. _"You win, Haruno Sakura."_

* * *

"Sasuke, what's wrong with you?" she asked, coming out from the bathroom in fresh, dry clothes. She handed him his polo back, and he took it without looking at her, eyes staring at the ceiling as he lay still on his bed. "Nothing…" He muttered, sitting up after doing some thinking before pulling his polo on. He then stood up and she followed silently. After all, they still had classes. 

"Just tell me what's up with you." She said, rushing after him and grabbing his arm to stop him from walking further away. "You do realize that your hair is still down." He said, glancing at her. Sakura turned pink that she quickly took out a spare hair tie and tied her hair. "Hn. Stop pestering me about what's wrong, we still have ninjutsu class to go to." He added.

"Pfft. Like you'll need the lecture," she muttered. "You can just copy them with your eyes anyway."

"I don't rely on the sharingan all the time, gaki."

She twitched.

"What did you call me?!"

He smirked, but not because of their little "game", but more on because of the fact that she just forgot about what was bothering him. Thank God for that.

"It's not bad to give someone a nickname." He countered with a nonchalant shrug.

"It is when it's insulting!"

Sasuke raised a brow.

"Don't you dare raise a brow at me!" she pointed, and he smirked, eyebrow still raised. "Don't you smirk at me too!"

"It's a free country." He said, not changing his expression.

"Damn it! Stop looking at me in that way! It's – it's annoying me!"

"Hn. Copy-cat." He muttered. "Annoying is my word, and that's used to describe you."

Sakura twitched and raised a fist attempting to punch him but she eventually sighed and lowered it, crossing her arms in the process; although, it did lead the ANBU before her to look at her chest slightly before clearing his throat and looking away, amazed at himself that he didn't blush.

"_Maybe you will if she was naked…" _his inner said in a sly manner, and Sasuke twitched and kicked the inner away.

"Let's just go." He said under his breath, pocketing his hands as he walked, Sakura following wordlessly.

* * *

"Alright class, to test your ninjutsu skills, one must first have a partner. Since most missions lately are done by pairs, I shall see to it that you work in synchronization with your partner. And for that, you shall have a 'bonding' moment with each other." No reply was made as Kakashi chuckled. "I assume you know who your partners are." And he sat down on the teacher's chair, opened the book he loves and read, letting his students chatter with their partner. 

Sakura waited for him to speak, but he didn't seem to make any move at all. Instead, he just continued reading a book, and when she peeked at the cover, she was relieved it wasn't one of the books that Jiraiya writes. But the title did freak her out. This guy was apparently obsessed with blood, mass murder and such. In short, Uchiha Sasuke was a dark, dark person.

"If you're done staring," he began, flipping to the next page. "You can start talking."

She twitched, again, in annoyance. "Fine, but you better stop reading!"

"Hn. I'm in the good part already." And he flipped to the next.

"Then how the hell will you even understand what I'm saying?!"

"Gaki," he muttered. "I'm doing the same right now and am still capable of talking to you while reading."

That got her to shut up, but she was still annoyed at his arrogance.

"Fine." She huffed. "I'm good at taijutsu and medical ninjutsu."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Another twitch on her part. "Well, bastard, how am I supposed to know what you're unaware of when you know so much about me already? Unlike you, I don't read the biographies of people…"

Sasuke sighed and closed the book, turning to her with serious eyes.

"For instance, your family," he noticed her stiffen. "And lastly, your fear of water..."

"I…I don't find what's so relevant about you knowing them."

She was smart, that much he knew, but he too, wasn't shabby when it came to arguments.

"It would help me be able to know how far you can go. For example, since you are afraid of water, obviously I won't force you to do your part involving it. Next, if something traumatic happened to you and your family, like – let's say in some cases, the father attempts to rape his daughter - then I won't and can't let you seduce a male target during a mission."

Sakura's eyes half-closed; while she looked at him with admiration hidden in her eyes, he patiently waited for her to say something.

"My mother…" she slowly began. "Is currently in the hospital,"

He knew that.

"And I'm the one paying for her bills, since she's in a coma, and I'm not sure when she'll wake up."

"What happened to her?"

"She protected me." She answered. "We were on one of those rare family outings, and they decided to venture out into the ocean. My father was handling the speed boat; we were having a great time, until…"

Sasuke adjusted his chair so that he was fully facing her.

"Sharks attacked all of a sudden. And they weren't your average or normal ones. Aside from that, I sensed someone's chakra, what puzzled me is that… why would someone want to attack us? My parents aren't even ninjas, I'm the first ninja in our family." Her fists clenched. "I didn't know how to swim back then. I was only a freshman, a soon-to-be genin. My mother protected me from something big. I can't exactly remember what, but it was a weapon, that much I know. But she wasn't killed, yet I believe that it was due to a genjutsu that my mother is in a comatose state."

"What about your dad?"

She was silent for a moment, and he knew the answer to that, understood what her look and expression meant. And for that, he didn't hesitate to grab her hand, squeezing it lightly as she looked up at him with wide eyes. He wasn't directly looking at her, nor was he blushing. Instead, she noted how his onyx orbs, those eyes which she found so beautiful, reflected the same emptiness and sadness she had when that incident happened.

"I was lucky," she added, looking down when he eyed her. "That Kakashi-sensei's team came along and saved my mother and me. And even though she was released from the genjutsu, she was still trapped."

Sakura felt his fingers intertwine with hers, and she did the same action, recalling their supposedly date.

"And for that," he spoke, looking at her as their eyes met. "You strive to become the best medic nin..."

She blinked before giving a small smile.

"Hn." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I guess it's only fair to tell you my past then."

"Sasuke," she placed a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn't matter. Just tell me what you think is important in case we get a mission."

He knew that she could tell he was the type who kept to himself, who did not like opening up all of a sudden. She respected his privacy, and somehow, he felt like it wasn't fair.

"I used to live with my dad and my brother until Orochimaru-sensei assigned me here."

"Where's your mom?"

He didn't reply for a while, but all he did say, just to confirm her suspicions, was: "She's not dead, that's for sure." He sighed and leaned back, their fingers letting go, even when he noted the dejected look Sakura had. "You know about the sharingan, but I'm pretty fast, I'm not too bad in taijutsu, I specialize in fire elements and electricity as well." He glanced at Kakashi who caught his eye, and behind that mask, Sasuke knew that the teacher smiled. "I once had a spar with Kakashi-sensei, and it was during that time that I witnessed his famous attack known as the lightning edge."

"Chidori..?"

"That's the one." he turned back to her. "I copied it with my eyes, and managed to perform it against his in order to avoid a critical hit."

"You easily mastered it?"

"No. I wasted too much chakra on that attack. Kakashi-sensei recognized my potential, and he offered to privately tutor me the proper use of the technique, as well as the sharingan. He also enhanced my speed and taijutsu."

"He knows the proper usage of the Sharingan?"

Sasuke nodded. "It's a long story that he hasn't told me. So I'm not sure why he knows so much about my clan."

"Well, aren't we a good combination." She giggled. He raised a brow, and she elaborated. "I'm good at genjutsu, and you can easily dispel or see through it. I've got good chakra control, and you have so much reserves of it. I have a knack for medical skills, even advanced ones, and it can come in handy when you go on risky offenses. We're both good at taijutsu, so that means, we wouldn't burden the other when we run out of weapons or run low on chakra. What's more is, you add up your ninjutsu know-how and that makes our teamwork reach 100." She stopped and looked thoughtful. "But of course, it only means we compliment each other, but it doesn't prove that we're the best tag team."

"Hn. For that, we need to train."

"How so?" she asked.

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi, then at the clipboard that innocently lay on the teacher's desk. The ANBU activated his sharingan in hopes of getting a better view of what was written before smirking and looking back at Sakura, sharingan deactivated. "Looks like he's planning a double spar." He whispered. "And our first opponents are Uzumaki and Hyuuga."

Sakura glanced at the mentioned two, seeing Naruto talking and Hinata blushing yet attentively listening. "But…" she turned back to Sasuke. "Hinata has the byaakugan."

"Exactly." He answered. "Here's the plan."

"Isn't this cheating..?" She asked before he could continue.

"It's called strategy," he answered, poking her on the forehead. He smirked when she pouted at him. "You see, if Kakashi didn't really want any of us to know about his next plan, he wouldn't be careless to leave that clipboard out in the open." He stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Although, there's a high chance that it's a trap." He murmured.

"A trap..?"

"Aa." He glanced back at Kakashi. "He's a tricky ninja, that's for sure. The list that I saw might be a decoy."

"Then, what do we do?"

"Well, if ever Uzumaki and Hyuuga are our opponents, I'm pretty sure you'll have no trouble in handling the blonde idiot."

Sakura shrugged. "I can try."

"As for Hyuuga," he narrowed his eyes. "The byaakugan has so many advantages, and I'll really need the Sharingan's aid for it."

"How so?"

"Byaakugan has a 360 degrees vision, I'll need to use my sharingan to predict the enemy's attacks in order to even out the odds. And according to records," he turned to Hinata. "She's good at taijutsu, and she isn't slow at all, which means I'll need to overestimate her abilities for a sure win." He stopped and leaned back, crossing his arms as he lowered his head for more thinking. "But this is a test for our partnership." He closed his eyes as Sakura waited, unsure what to say. "Hn," he smirked. "I get it."

"Get what?"

"Don't you see?" he whispered. "Kakashi-sensei has something else planned for this exam."

* * *

The class looked at Kakashi, waiting for him to call out the first two pairs. "Now then, your time limit for this fight is only five minutes. Given that time, you have to impress me with your skills. There're only two rules: No killing and no seeking help from the class, only from your partner." 

And as he called the first few pairs, Sakura anxiously waited for their turn, knowing very well Hinata's hidden potential, and how Naruto can be such a handful. If what Sasuke predicted is true, then, they have a shoo-in to win this.

"_But what if his prediction was far from it?" _she asked, leading her to get lost in her thoughts, only snapping back to reality when her partner tapped her shoulder. She quickly looked at him. "It's our turn." He said, gesturing with his head to where their opponents were. She followed his gaze, and her eyes widened when she spotted another pair from their class and not Naruto or Hinata.

"Great, of all pairs, why did it have to be Shikamaru and Ino?" she gritted her teeth. She hated fighting against Shikamaru since he had a high IQ. And she didn't really like Ino's specialty. Last time they had a spar, it took Kakashi to convince Ino to release her control on Sakura.

"Hn, looks like I was right," he turned to Kakashi who smiled at him. "He really did leave the list on purpose." He smirked and turned to their opponents, seeing how Shikamaru looked too relaxed yet his eyes told the ANBU that he was going to take this seriously. And from the looked the blonde girl sent them, he can sense that she was as good as Karin, if not near her level.

"_Although, my prediction of Naruto and Hinata being our opponents caused us our win." _He narrowed his eyes as they stood a few feet away from their opponents._"These two don't look much of a threat, but they have something up their sleeves." _He closed his eyes. _"I can sense it."_

"Ready, begin!"

And as soon as Kakashi gave the go signal, Sasuke opened his eyes, having the sharingan activated as he quickly dodged the kunai and shuriken thrown at him. His eyes widened slightly as he rolled to the ground, right in time to evade the two kunai that was sent from behind. "Sakura! Watch where you're aiming!" he yelled, stopping when he saw her shadow being connected to Shikamaru, or more accurately, Shikamaru's shadow to hers.

"Kakashi-sensei never mentioned that it was against the rules to start without his signal." he said with a lazy grin directed at Sasuke.

"…Shit." He turned to Shikamaru. "…he's from the Nara clan." He murmured to himself. "Tch. Figures." He decided that in order for a better win, he'll need to get Sakura free first, even if it seems like he's against three people.

"Sasuke! Ino's coming at you from your right!" Sakura warned. She may not have full control of her body, but she can still talk.

He stopped, leaning back when Ino attempted a kick. "Tch." He quickly formed some hand seals and breathed out a ball of fire at Ino, who almost got caught in the flames.

Sasuke then stood back up and quickened his pace in getting Shikamaru to release his control on Sakura. His eyes narrowed when the shadow wielder smirked. "What the?!" Shikamaru threw a couple of kunai and shuriken at him, so he attempted to jump away, but stopped when he realized that if he did, the projectiles will hit Sakura. "Fuck." He used his arms to shield himself, forgetting that there were weapons also hurtling from behind him where Sakura was, still controlled by Shikamaru.

"Sasuke! Dodge!"

He didn't, which caused the blades to embed themselves onto his body.

"Holy shit, you hit him!" Kiba cried out, blinking repeatedly when Sasuke turned into a log.

"Kawarimi." Ino muttered, turning to see Sasuke advance from behind Shikamaru. "Behind you!" she warned.

Shikamaru jumped away to avoid a kick, loosing his concentration on Sakura. But…

"Look behind you, Sasuke." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

Sasuke turned and saw Sakura direct a chakra-filled punch at him. He didn't have enough time to dodge, so he blocked with his right arm, causing some bones to crack from the impact. "Ugh. Shit. What the hell?!" he eyed Sakura who remained silent and continued punching and kicking at him. Sasuke could only dodge and evade, at the same time, wonder what has gotten into his partner.

"_I got her out of Shikamaru's control? So, why?"_

He could only duck and defend when Shikamaru also engaged himself into hand-to-hand combat, finding a right opportunity to catch Sasuke with his shadow to end the fight.

"_Damn it, I can't think straight. Why the hell is Sakura against me? Is this some sort of illusion? No, can't be. My sharingan's activated." _He tried to get away from them, to further widen the gap between the two. _"Wait. Where's..?" _he glanced to the side, his sharp eyes catching sight of Ino's unconscious body on the ground. _"…Ino…__Ino…"_he tried to recall all of the ninja's bio data he had forced himself to know by heart in order to not disgrace the name of his school, his family and rank. _"Ino…"_he narrowed his eyes. _"Yamanaka Ino. From the Yamanaka clan. Damn. No wonder Sakura doesn't want to battle them. Their teamwork is flawless!"_

He could only assume that while he was heading towards Shikamaru earlier, Ino had spotted him and quickly transferred to his partner before Shikamaru's control on her would fade. _"There are two ways I can think of to break that jutsu." _He panted as he fell his chakra drained from the extra speed he used to not get caught in Shikamaru's trap. _"One is for Sakura to use her free will and get Ino out." _

With what little chakra he has, he used it to heal his cracked bone on his right arm so that he can have an additional advantage against this fight as Shikamaru and "Sakura" tried to get him. _"Another is… Damn, there's no way I'm gonna…" _he trailed off, seeing as his partner showed no sign of breaking free from Ino's jutsu. "To hell with it!" he yelled, running towards Sakura's body.

Ino was baffled at what he did that she prepared herself, only to be shocked when Sasuke had grabbed Sakura's waist and crashed his lips on hers, his eyes forced closed.

"_H-holy shit!" _Ino thought, returning to her own body. "Shit. Sakura's gonna kill me…" She muttered to herself, eyeing the kissing pair with wide eyes. Shikamaru stood there, dumbfounded, while the rest of the class, including Kakashi, stared with shocked expressions.

Sasuke pulled away shortly, checking to see if Sakura was back.

"…S-Sasuke..?!"

Yep. She was back.

"Thank god." He said exasperatedly and got back to a fighting stance. "Alright Sakura, new plan, make sure you don't get caught in Shikamaru or Ino's jutsu, because if you do, I refuse to help you out any longer, got that?" he asked seriously, eyeing her.

She didn't respond, and no one, not even their opponents, made a move.

Sasuke raised a brow and turned to Sakura. "What?"

"You… you…" she shook. "YOU BASTARD!" and she punched him.

* * *

She blinked, staring at him as he had his back turned to her, and ice pack on his left cheek. 

"…Sorry." She said.

"…"

"I just thought you… well, anybody would've-" she cut herself off, seeing as he was not reacting, even for a bit. "Sasuke, I'm sorry."

He didn't respond.

Sasuke opened his eyes when he felt her take the ice pack from his cheek and replace it with her hand. He could feel the stinging pain subside when she healed it, giving an apologetic look at the process. He eyed her as she kept her gaze on him, not moving away until he would speak to her. Heck, even a 'hn' would be good enough.

"What is it with you and punching people?" he muttered, turning to lie down on his bed. Sakura gave a relieved sigh that her partner finally talked. "Sorry, it's just my initial reaction."

"Hn." He closed his eyes and turned his back to her. "Go to sleep."

She smiled slightly. He was back to normal.

"By the way," he called out, causing her to turn to look at him. "I won our bet."

"Huh?!"

He smirked and showed her a snapshot. "I got this while you were with Ino, during the time she was making you wear a dress."

"Oh my god! You bastard!"

Punch.

"…Sasuke?"

"I'm not talking to you anymore."

"W-wait! It was an impulse! Sasuke!!"

He turned around and shut his eyes, cursing at the pain.

"Sasuke, come on! Don't ignore me!"

Again, no response…

"…You… didn't post it in public, did you?"

A smirk, and she fought the urge to punch him on the other cheek.

_**To be continued…** _

* * *

_Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 5: Closer_

And as soon as he uttered those words, she got up and tackled him to a hug, her eyes shedding more tears as he closed his eyes and slowly returned the embrace. She really was an annoying girl, but somehow, that may be the very reason why he's getting too attached to her. And he doesn't know if he should be afraid of that realization or not. Right now, he just needed to be there for her.

* * *

_**Kokuzoku** means traitor(s) if I'm not mistaken. _

_A/N: Er.. yeah, I'm still alive. Barely. I mean, I just graduated from being a CAT officer, and my finals are next week. After that, it's graduation practices galore and finally, I'm a freshman all over again – in college that is. XD No updates for the time being. As for Ai no Tsubasa and Biohazard, well, I'll get to it. I think I'm getting too hooked on this fiction. _


	5. Closer

**Genjutsu**

Sports weren't usually his thing, but he did know how to play a few selected ones like basketball, soccer, baseball and even tennis. Being an ANBU, he of course knew all kinds of martial arts, including Kendo. However, being forced to be in the locker room of the basketball team, surrounded by a lot of the male students he already knew by face, name, or reputation, was something he did not enjoy.

"This is stupid." He muttered, arms crossed while his bag was still slung on his shoulder. "I still have a mission tomorrow."

"Lighten up Sasuke! You said that yesterday!"

"Hn, dead last." He opened his eyes and glared at Naruto. "The Hokage postponed it, since today is apparently the 'holiday' I hate."

Naruto gasped and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, earning a blank look from the ANBU.

"Blasphemy! How can you not like Valentine's Day?!"

Sasuke raised a brow. "I've got plenty of reasons."

"Don't feel bad Sasuke." He turned to see Idate enter the locker room. "I didn't get chocolates either."

"Oh, I only got one." Naruto murmured, mumbling Hinata's name.

Kiba smirked. "I've got five, and I bet Neji's gonna win this year again."

Neji looked at them when all eyes looked at him expectantly. "I don't know." He said with a shrug. "I heard Gaara, the Suna exchange student, was rivaling mine." All the guys, except for Sasuke, whistled in awe. "Still, you've won for what, three times a row in this favorite guy contest. Surely you'll win again this year."

They turned to Sasuke who looked bored and uninterested.

"And you?" Kiba asked. The Oto student narrowed his eyes at them, making Idate nod. "I feel for you buddy, I don't have chocolates either."

They watched as Sasuke walked over to the table they were circling around, took his backpack, opened the zipper and turned it upright, causing a lot of neatly wrapped gifts and sweets to come out and fill up the large rectangular table. He raised a brow at Idate, as if telling: You were saying..?

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Closer**_

"Well, Neji still has a lot." Lee muttered, staring at Sasuke's pile.

"Hn. You should see my locker, desk and dorm room." Sasuke muttered, taking his empty bag and walking out of the room, not minding how they all gaped, including Neji.

"Hey! Your stuffs!"

"I don't like sweets." He retorted to Kiba, and left.

Silence filled the locker room as Naruto cleared his throat and turned to Neji. "So, you still in the lead?"

"No. My dorm and locker are clean."

"And Gaara?"

Neji shrugged. "Same."

Kiba snickered. "Someone's gonna get dethroned."

"Good." The Hyuuga said, sighing in relief. "I'm glad someone finally came to take away the spotlight." He smirked. "I'm sure Uchiha's having a grand time with all the attention he's getting." Of course, they knew he was being sarcastic.

* * *

Sakura stared at the pictures that were on the paper pinned on the bulletin board. She knew that her partner was going to be a candidate, and she was sure he had a chance to win.

"He's here!"

She heard females scream from every corner, squealing like love-sick teenagers. It made her cringe, knowing that only one person caused this uproar.

"Oi, if you're not doing anything, we need to get ready for tomorrow."

A twitch and a vein popped as she turned to him with a glare and pointed at his portrait that was on the bulletin board. He followed her index finger and read the words printed on the sheet.

"Guy contest? What the heck is that?" he furrowed his brows. "It's pretty useless you know."

She blinked. So someone else had the same thought she had? That was cool.

"Why would people bother to have this if it's not important?"

"Finally, someone who has common sense..!" Sakura yelled exasperatedly. All the other ninjas she talked to regarding this matter gave her a weird look whenever she'd voice out her opinion. Even Shikamaru, the guy who supposedly thinks everything is troublesome, found this contest amusing. "The Hokage believes that it's a way to relieve stress from the ninjas by letting them have fun."

"Hn. From the looks of it, only female ninjas seem to be…" he trailed off, eyeing some girls from the corner of his eyes who were apparently stalking him.

Sakura noted the irritated look on his face. "Alright, first of all, they are free to stalk you or any guy who are candidates. Next, you are not allowed to ignore them, snap at them or brush them off when they talk to you. If you don't abide by these conditions, you are disqualified."

"Hn. Great." He said, seeing a female Chuunin ready approaching him. "And here comes my ticket to disqualification."

"You can't do that." Sakura muttered, sighing. "A lot of people will lose interest once they find out you're out."

"Why?"

"To put it simply, they all believe that you can dethrone Neji."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "And I care because..?"

"If you don't," she turned to him. "You can say goodbye to Oto's reputation."

Honestly, Sasuke could care less, but he owed the Otokage a lot. For granting him this mission for a chance to seek _her_, for teaching him helpful techniques not everyone can learn, and many more. "Damn." He cursed, turning to the girl who asked him a few questions. Sakura could only laugh at his misery.

"Lighten up Sasuke," she patted the boy's back when the girl quickly finished her questions and left. "Think about the positives. Like how people will admire you more, and Oto will be well-known. Next, there's a cash prize for the winner, lastly, you-"

"Won the bet against you." He finished, smirking to take a look at her. She blushed and looked away. "Yeah, thanks to you, I gained more fans…" she twitched when she heard guys calling out her name. Sasuke raised his hand to push away her bangs that covered her face, causing Sakura to have wide eyes, redder cheeks and to look up at him as he gave a small smile that almost seemed unnoticeable. "At least it's teamwork." He joked, turning around to leave.

"Teamwork my ass! So if you have to suffer for your popularity, I have to as well?!"

"Yup." He answered as she followed him outside the school building to head for their dorm. "Anyway, at least you look good."

Sakura stopped, her face still adorning a blush when he said that.

"…Gaki?" he turned to her.

"Did you… mean that..?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "I don't say things for nothing you know." He sighed when she didn't seem satisfied. "Yes, I meant it, alright? Now let's go."

"Where..?"

"We need to discuss about our mission, somewhere private."

"Okay." She followed him inside their dorm, waiting for him to finish dumping his school things near the bed before heading towards the door. "Eh? Sasuke, where-" he cut her off as he gestured her to step outside. "This place can have ears, might as well take a walk outside campus."

Sakura followed without a word, staring at her partner as they stepped out of campus and headed somewhere quiet: a nearby coffee shop. He entered and waited for her to come inside, still having a questioning look on her face. "This might take a while, so, go ahead and order."

"Eh? Why didn't you say so?! I didn't bring my wallet!"

"Did I say you were going to pay? I just told you to order."

She blinked, and then laughed. "Should I consider this as another date?"

"Hn."

* * *

"Kokuzoku..?" Sakura repeated, eyeing the folder which contained the information of their mission. "I've heard of them, but I haven't really encountered them." She looked down at her lap. "Are they dangerous?"

"My last encounter with two of their members had me ended up in a hospital with broken ribs, a broken arm, and chakra exhaustion plus cost two of my teammates' lives." He lowered his head at the memory. They were a team of ANBU, four of them to be exact. One was a medic, two were newly appointed ANBU (him included), and the other was a veteran. It was his first ANBU mission then, and only he and the medic survived that encounter with the Kokuzoku.

Sakura felt her spine tingle from fear. Uchiha Sasuke was left in that state after an encounter with the Kokuzoku. She never really thought that he'd end up like that. In her eyes, he was the perfect example of an ANBU, save the fact that he seems to like annoying her.

"I told the Hokage to reconsider in sending you with me in this mission." He said, noting her eyes. He could detect the fear she was having. "You can personally refuse this mission, so that he can appoint someone else. You are, after all, the only family your mother has. She can't afford to lose you, and you can't abandon her just like that." He got up and took the folder from her. "Let's head back."

"…"

He stopped when she didn't make any move at all.

"Sakura..?"

"I'm… I…"

He grabbed her hand and raised her to her feet. "Let's go." He said, assisting her in heading back to their school, ignoring the eyes that were directed at them, specifically by the female ninjas in Konoha. They reached the Hokage's office and entered after being told to come in once Sasuke was done knocking.

"Is there something you need?" Sarutobi asked when he saw the two.

"Aa." Sasuke led Sakura to a vacant chair and had her sit down before taking the other chair opposite of her. "Assign someone else with more experience for this mission. I can't afford to have Sakura be distracted by fear, nor would I want her to go through with this."

Sarutobi frowned. "We talked about this Sasuke."

"I know, Hokage-sama, but look at her."

Sarutobi did, and he wasn't shocked at all to see how the girl was frozen with fear.

"Being a burden aside, she lacks experience for this mission. The worst that could happen is that we both may die, or one of us will."

"Sakura," Sarutobi spoke, causing the girl to look up. "Do you wish to be replaced for this mission?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't really voice out what she wants to say, because a part of her wanted to say yes, while the other wanted to be strong and firm to accept the mission. But thinking back about Sasuke's description of the Kokuzoku made her shake again, like how water affects her during a fight. She briefly glanced at Sasuke, who was staring at her, his eyes telling her to give up the position, to refuse the mission.

"_You're always worried about me." _She thought, looking down. _"Why do people always have to look out for me?"_ her fists clenched at the memory of how her father died, how her mother was in a coma, and how she decided to become a ninja to protect her loved ones, and to protect the people from going through the fate she had encountered and still is. "No." she said, raising her head to give a look of determination to Sarutobi, who smiled at the bravery she showed.

"Sakura-"

"It's okay Sasuke." She looked at him. "I want to do this, I want to fulfill my obligation as a Shinobi." She gave a smile. "And I want to be able to watch your back, as you watch mine."

He was taken aback, but ended up sighing and looking away. "Hn. Do what you want."

"It's settled then. I'll postpone this mission on the day after tomorrow, so that you can both properly prepare yourselves. Besides, there's a slim chance that you may not encounter the Kokuzoku at all."

The way back to their dorm was a silent one, and she was getting edgy and shifty about it.

"Thanks for worrying though." She began, looking at him. He only spared her a glance before looking back ahead. "Uh… maybe you can teach me a few tricks I should know for this..?" he ignored her, and she sweat dropped and tried to think harder of what possible conversation she can start. It was still quite a long way back to their dormitory after all. "So, do you think I can handle the pressure?" she looked up at him in a hopeful expression, but again, she was ignored.

"Damn it Uchiha! Stop ignoring me!" she stepped in front of him, preventing the ANBU from advancing. "Say something!" he looked down at her calmly as she glared at him, before her eyes softened and lowered, looking away from his gaze. "I'm scared, and you being silent isn't helping me at all." She shut her eyes, forcing her watery orbs to go away or dry up, refusing to show him tears. "I'm so pathetic, I feel so weak. Can't you say something to assure me or encourage me? Annoy me, hell, just talk to me! Even your one word response will be fine!"

He didn't say anything yet. How can he? His mind was jumbled. He couldn't think straight. He can't even decide what to say, or what to do. So he resorted to keeping his mouth shut, though he felt really bad for not doing anything about her state. "You asshole." She hissed, wiping her tears angrily as she turned her back on him. "Forget it, let's just go."

The air was tense in their dorm, since he was just sitting on the window sill, eyeing the things happening outside while she stared at him discreetly, looking for any signs of him saying something. He's been silent the whole time, and she hasn't uttered anything too after her insult earlier.

"…Damn bastard." She whispered to herself, not knowing that he had heard her. "The least you could do is make fun of me." She muttered. "Anything to keep my mind of off the mission…"

"Tch."

Well, at least she got a response, somewhat.

"Know what? Forget it. You are an Oto ANBU after all. It's only normal for you to be this cold." She glared at him. "I just wished you started like that when you first came here. That way, I didn't have to hope or believe that you aren't so bad. I guess I stand corrected."

He smirked. Finally, something he can comment on.

She noticed his lips and she twitched.

"You're not even standing," he turned to her, still smirking. "_Cherry_."

Oh how she hated it when he called her that! It makes everyone think that it's his _pet name _to her; which leads to possible thoughts from the ninjas that they could be a couple.

"You son of a-" she cut herself off and turned to the side. "Damn you, asshole…"

"Hn." He adjusted his position so that he was facing her. "Look, I'm sorry if I didn't say anything, I really didn't know what to say." He shrugged and leaned back against the window. "I mean," his cheeks flushed slightly. "I've… had a rough past, if you fear water, I fear losing someone. Whether a teammate, family member, friend or superior. I never manage to overcome the guilt I always feel afterwards." He closed his eyes and tried to relax. "Up until now, I still can't get over the fact that it isn't my fault that my comrades died after encountering the Kokuzoku. I always tell myself, if I had been stronger, I would've prevented their deaths." He smirked and opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. "Damn this place. It caused me to be vulnerable." He eyed her, seeing how her eyes were wide and teary. "Actually, damn you for making me feel soft."

And as soon as he uttered those words, she got up and tackled him to a hug, her eyes shedding more tears as he closed his eyes and slowly returned the embrace. She really was an annoying girl, but somehow, that may be the very reason why he's getting too attached to her. And he doesn't know if he should be afraid of that realization or not. Right now, he just needed to be there for her.

"I know that… a girl like you who lacks experience, and also had a rough past, is afraid of the idea of having to encounter these people, afraid of dying. I know the feeling." He opened his eyes again and looked at her, seeing how she continued to let her emotions out. "Sometimes, holding up a strong façade in front of others can be a tough burden, you're lucky that you can break down, like right now." She looked at him as he too, looked at her. "I really envy you," he muttered, wiping some of her tears. "I can't bring myself to cry when I want to; I can't even drop this reputation or impression. So while you're still a Jounin, make the most of it."

He wasn't entirely surprised when she pulled him in for an embrace.

"Just because you're an ANBU, doesn't mean you're not allowed to feel every once in a while."

"Hn. You weren't brought up in Oto…"

"You're in Konoha now, forget about what Oto taught you for the time being." She pulled away and gave a reassuring smile. "Shinobi are humans too, even if they are used as tools."

Sasuke eyed her for a while before sighing and placing a hand above her pink tresses. "Whatever." She knew that he meant to thank her, but she didn't bother to push her luck, and just beamed.

* * *

"Good luck, Sasuke-san."

He raised a brow at the girl who said that, who soon blushed and walked away from him in a faster pace, giggling all the while. His eyes blinked before turning back to his partner who laughed, noting the clueless expression on his face. "Today's the results." She explained, walking ahead, backpack secured, hands clasped behind her back, hair down and the forehead protector worn as a headband. "She's just wishing you luck. She probably voted for you."

"Hn. And you?"

"Me? I don't vote." She stuck her tongue out at him. "I may be the only female ninja here who doesn't vote in this stupid contest." She shrugged. "Neji always seems to win anyway, but this year, you've got a chance to dethrone the king."

"Who says I want to?" he asked nonchalantly, walking alongside her as they trudged down the hallways, ignoring the looks a few of his fans sent his way, only to blush when he'd spare them a glance. "Honestly, if I can back out, I would."

"Unfortunately, the faculty is in charge of the candidates, so boo hoo for you."

"…Boo… hoo..?" he repeated, quirking a brow at her and an amused smirk. "Nice word."

"S-shut up!" she cried, walking ahead of him.

They reached their designated classroom and took their seats, knowing that Kakashi wouldn't be arriving after another hour or so.

"Be sure to wake up early tomorrow."

Sakura gave him a questioning look.

"Mission." He said, taking out a book and read the page where he last looked at the other day. "We have to get to the destination as soon as possible, and to get to our transportation, we have to be early."

"Right…" she muttered, suddenly recalling something. "Before I forget," she took something out of her backpack, "Here." and handed the object to him with a smile. Sasuke closed the book and set it down, eyeing the red colored box she was handing him. "How did…" he trailed off, taking the box of chocolate flavored pocky from her. She smiled and cocked her head to the side a bit. "Well, yesterday, during break time, I passed by Hokage-sama on my way out to get you something for Valentine's. Your Otokage visited to see how you and Karin were doing."

Sasuke remained silent, eyeing her as she continued.

"Of course, I greeted him when Hokage-sama introduced me to him, and he asked me about you, we talked, and I ended up asking what I can give you." She giggled when Sasuke turned slightly red. "Apparently, he once gave you a box of chocolate pocky as congratulations for your promotion to Chuunin level."

"Tch. I told him not to tell anyone…"

"Aww… don't I get a thank you?"

"Hn." He shut his eyes, cheeks still red. "…thanks."

The class raised their heads when the Hokage spoke through the intercom, letting the students be aware of a few news that he was just told of, followed by the announcement of the winner for the favorite guy contest.

"Wow, I heard Hyuuga, Uchiha and Sabaku's votes are close!" one ninja said to his seatmate. "No kidding! It's hard to tell who's gonna win!" the other said, as they turned back to the intercom to listen on who were the top five out of the fifteen candidates.

"Coming in for fifth place goes to Nara Shikamaru."

"Tch. Troublesome." He muttered when he heard some of his female classmates clap.

Sakura only giggled since she knew Shikamaru, obviously not surprised that he made it in the top five again.

"Fourth place belongs to Inuzuka Kiba."

"Holy shit! I'm fourth?!" the boy asked, bewildered.

"Third place goes to Aburame Shino."

Shino did not bother to comment for he was listening to his mp3 player, even though his fans were throwing him heart-filled gazes.

"Second goes to Sabaku Gaara."

Gaara blinked, clearly not expecting he was going to be part of the top five. Although he heard his sister comment that he didn't even bother to see that he was a candidate, at the same time, comforting Kankuro who was crying because his name wasn't called, nor was he included as a candidate.

"For the winner, I'd like to call someone first for this student needs to vote between the two to end the tie."

Sakura froze. _"But… I've never voted!"_

Sasuke raised a brow. "Isn't that pretty stupid?" he sighed. "If one of the two would win, then what place would be left to the other when Sabaku has taken the second place?" he turned to Sakura who nodded stiffly at his comment. "You okay?" he asked, sweat dropping at his partner's behavior. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I was also thinking about what you said…"

Sarutobi, as if hearing them both, added: "The loser of the two will be the first place, in other words, the first runner-up. Meaning the winner will have to be this year's favorite guy."

Again, Sasuke questioned this. "Why would there be a runner-up needed? It's not like the winner has to perform a specific role for the school."

"Y-yeah. Hm… maybe if he fails to be… you know, a good role model Shinobi?"

Sasuke shrugged but continued eyeing her. "So, what's with you?"

"Nothing!"

Sarutobi then called five names, saying that one of these people haven't voted yet, and in order to save the embarrassment of the said person, he's calling four more girls.

Sakura heard her name, along with Hinata's and another girl from their class, and two more from another. She glanced at Hinata who muttered that she already voted, albeit it was vaguely heard due to her soft voice. Sakura gulped and glanced at Sasuke who eyed her for a while before smirking. Apparently, he soon caught on, she did say so herself earlier that she doesn't vote, meaning she was the culprit.

"_Ah damn. He's gonna find out which of the two I'll vote for!"_

* * *

The five girls reached the principals office, and he asked all five to choose between the remaining two candidates who received an equal amount of votes. They picked their guy and Sarutobi took told them to write their names as well so that he can distinguish which one was the right paper. Sakura was only thankful that none of them commented that they have voted, so she was safe.

The Hokage then told them to return to their respective classes and picked out the paper that he was looking for, smirking due to his prediction coming true. "Well then, time to kill the suspense." He leaned over to the microphone. "Alright, our remaining two candidates are Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke. So, who will be this year's favorite guy?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "Okay… I didn't exactly expect to be a part of this…" he muttered, sweat dropping at some of his female classmates who were giggling and eyeing at him, squealing when he spared them a glance. _"Ah shit." _

"What do you think Neji?" Tenten asked.

"Hm?" he smirked. "Uchiha's going to suffer this time, not me."

"Last year's winner, Hyuuga Neji, takes first place, making Uchiha Sasuke this year's favorite guy in Konoha, congratulations to our ANBU-ranked Oto transfer student."

The girls who voted for him cheered, while those who remained loyal to Neji, cried out their sorrows. Although, Neji only snickered, knowing the hell that Sasuke will be encountering soon enough.

"_Hn. Cherry actually voted for me?" _he smirked and closed his eyes. _"Funny, I would've thought she'd vote for Hyuuga since she knows I know she's the person who hasn't voted." _He glanced at the empty seat beside him. _"Figures why she won't show up yet…"_

* * *

"You're postponing the mission again?"

Sarutobi clasped his hands together and nodded. "It would seem that your attendance is required for the small fair the school will be having."

"A fair for what..? And why am I needed?"

"It's some sort of short festival the school holds after a favorite guy contest." He cleared his throat. "Since you are the winner, you are to attend this festival. Besides, I am the Hokage so you basically have no choice."

Sasuke twitched and sighed, nodding before exiting the office. "This is not like Oto at all…" he muttered, slapping a hand against his forehead.

* * *

Small festival, yeah right - apparently, this _little _fair isn't little at all. It sure didn't look ordinary. Sighing, Sasuke pocketed his hands and began walking around in his school's uniform, not bothering to change into a hakama. The Hokage didn't say it was required anyway. All he said was that he should be there. Problem is, he can't seem to find his partner anywhere, and he needed to have a word with the girl.

"Man, Sakura-chan looks really cute!"

"Tell me about it! A cute and pretty face."

"_Hn. When there're fan boys, there's Sakura." _He thought, looking around as he spotted the two Chuunin who were talking about his partner. Actually, everywhere he turned; every guy, and a few girls, talked about Sakura. How it was the first time they saw her in a kimono, with her hair down and looking so lady-like. He decided to approach a few guys to ask of her whereabouts, sharingan activated since he was getting annoyed of not finding her amongst the crowd.

"Where is she?"

"U-Uchiha-san…" a genin piped, him and his Chuunin friend gulping at the sight of the ANBU. "Where is who..?"

"Sakura."

"J-jail booth."

Sasuke deactivated his sharingan and headed over to the direction the two guys pointed at. He didn't really mean to scare the two, he just can't help but look intimidating to some.

A sigh and a giggle here.

Okay, so he wasn't intimidating to everyone, because like Sakura had fan boys, he had fan girls.

"Tch." He reached his destination and pushed aside the crepe papers that were used as a design for the entrance of it. Glancing around, he spotted Sakura seated on a bench, looking annoyed while Kakashi stood smugly before her. "Sakura." He called out, noticing her freeze before turning to glare at him. He raised a brow at the reaction but chose to ignore it. "I've been looking everywhere for you…" he muttered.

"Are you here to bail her out, Sasuke?"

He turned to Kakashi who looked at him expectantly.

Thinking that he won't be able to talk to his partner regarding the mission, and something else, he sighed and nodded - wishing that he didn't when Kakashi told him that he had to pay the price by wearing a hakama.

"You have got to be kidding me…"

"Nope. You have to or she stays here."

Sasuke sighed and snatched the clothing from Kakashi, putting it on over his uniform before turning back to Sakura. "Let's go." He said. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms, turning her head away and not getting up from her seat. "I'd rather stay here."

"I don't have time for this Sakura. Let's go."

"I'm staying."

"Come on. I had to change into this to bail you out, so let's go."

"I didn't ask you to bail me out."

Kurenai, who was also part of the jail booth, turned to Sakura. "But just earlier you said you wanted to get out of here."

Sasuke smirked and raised a brow at Sakura who flushed but still did not stand up, nor look up at Sasuke.

"Get going Haruno. Rules are rules."

She froze at Morino Ibiki's voice before nodding and getting up, following Sasuke outside.

"Whoops! You forgot something!"

They both turned to see Kakashi walk over to them.

_Click. Click._

And they looked down at their wrists that were bound to each other by handcuffs.

"And here is the only key to it!" he had the key in his palm, but it soon melted when he used a fire jutsu.

"What the hell?! Sensei get this thing off!" Sakura yelled.

"Too bad, the key is gone."

The two glared daggers at him, about to threaten him when Ibiki appeared and told Kakashi that he was needed by the Hokage, leaving the two no choice but to walk around with their wrists cuffed together against their will.

"This is your fault Sasuke, get this thing off!"

"How is it my fault? You were the one who was being stubborn." He glanced at the metal handcuff. "A fire jutsu should be able to melt the chain…"

"What? And get my hand burnt? I don't think so!"

Sasuke twitched. "Annoying. It's just the chain and not your freakin' hand."

"Yeah? What if you accidentally light my hand on fire, huh?"

"_Sheesh. Girls." _Sasuke rolled his eyes at this as they both walked around in hopes of getting the handcuffs off. "Don't you have a hairpin with you?" he asked, glancing at her. She looked up and glared at him. "What do you think? I have my hair down, thanks to you, so I don't have pins with me!"

"I was just asking."

"And I was just answering."

"Damn it, what the heck is wrong with you?"

"You!"

He raised a brow, but she just ignored him as she continued seething. Sasuke shook his head in annoyance and looked around in hopes of finding something to get the chains off. During this time, he didn't notice how Sakura was staring at him, her inner self complimenting him in his hakama, glowering at the other female Shinobi who also fawned over him, commenting how it wasn't everyday that they see Sasuke in such clothing. She also twitched when her fans ogled her in her kimono.

"What're you looking at?" he asked, looking at her as she turned away abruptly. "Hmph. Just thinking how bad you look in a hakama." She snorted. "You look ugly in it." He, again, raised a brow at her behavior, but didn't bother to comment. Meanwhile, her inner self had kept saying that she was in denial with the whole Sasuke in a hakama thing.

"_You so wanna jump him right now!" _her inner squealed.

"_Pfft. Like hell. I just want to get away from him."_

"_Liar! You obviously love the idea of being handcuffed to him!"_

"_What in heaven's name gave you that idea?!" _

Her inner cackled. _"If you hate him so much, you would've used your super strength to unchain the cuffs-ooops!" _Inner quickly slammed her hands against her mouth, panicking when Sakura got what she meant and dragged the Uchiha somewhere less crowded. "What the-" she ignored him and tugged at the chains that bound them, a victorious grin on her lips when the chain was broken. "Finally! Freedom!"

"Hn. Now that that's settled, we still…" he trailed off when she turned to walk away. "Sakura, why are you avoiding me?"

She stopped and raised a brow at him. "Avoiding you? Pfft. Please…" she rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away when his next sentence made her stop once again. "You know, I wished you just voted for Hyuuga instead of me so that I wouldn't have to put up with this."

Sakura abruptly turned to face him with a glare. "Excuse you. What? You think you're that popular that I'd vote for you?" she snorted. "And what makes you think _I _did?!"

"You were just yelling in my ear on our way to class earlier how you've never voted, until today."

"You heard wrong."

"How the fuck can I hear wrong when you were screaming it in my ear, damn it!"

They both glared intensely at each other, both challenging the other to back down, but neither showed such signs.

"Yo! Sakura, teme!"

They both broke away from their leering contest and turned to see Naruto approaching them with Hinata, Neji and Tenten.

"Wow! You look nice Sakura." Tenten said with a grin. Hinata nodded, also voicing out her opinion regarding Sakura in a kimono. The girl addressed, of course, ended up blushing and disagreeing with them both. Naruto grinned widely at this. "Ne, Hinata-chan! Do you mind if I date Sakura for now? She's really pretty!"

The pink head twitched and glared at Naruto, not minding how Hinata giggled at the way the blonde joked. "How dare you do that to Hinata?!" and she punched Naruto. She glared at the blonde for a moment before walking away, ignoring Tenten's question of where she was going. Neji then glanced at Sasuke who stood still, staring at where Sakura ran off to with an irritated look.

"So, Uchiha, how's it like being the favorite guy?" Neji asked with a smug smirk.

"Completely heaven…" he muttered sarcastically, looking away with a "tch".

"Welcome to my used-to-be world."

"I wished you still won though." He hissed, attempting to walk the opposite of where Sakura headed until Hinata called him back. He turned to glance at the female Hyuuga. "You can't just leave your date alone…" she said in a soft voice. He raised a brow, silently asking for elaboration. Neji sighed and crossed his arms. "You don't know the rules? Well, as this year's favorite guy, your partner is your date for this festival, and the two of you are supposed to be together."

"What happens if I don't follow these… rules?"

Neji shrugged. "But I can assure you the consequences won't be pretty, knowing how our Hokage works."

Sasuke couldn't help but agree to that and sighed, twitching as the blonde idiot started rambling about ramen, and if that wasn't bad enough, he suddenly made suggestive looks at him, grinning slyly and saying how he and Sakura are just waiting for a chance to be alone, that Sakura is somewhere in a secluded area, awaiting for his arrival. Sasuke, of course, was tempted to shove a kunai up the dead last's ass.

He caught a glimpse of Sakura who was motioning for him to head to where she was, so he walked over to her, blending in with the crowd, ignoring how Naruto and the others called him.

"Chill, I just went to take a look at something." He said, coming back to them.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura eyed the group and Sasuke's bunshin before turning to further isolate themselves from the group of four. "There, now I don't owe you anymore for bailing me out." She said, attempting to leave again when he grabbed her wrist. "Walk away from me again, and I'll just end up following you." He let her go when she didn't make a move to leave. "You're my partner, and since I'm this year's… favorite guy…" he muttered the last part. "Hyuuga said I should be with you for the whole time this festival is being held."

"Damn it." She muttered under her breath, sighing and walking elsewhere as Sasuke followed, satisfied that she did not run away from him. Maybe this time, he can finally talk to her regarding the whole thing. "Why did you vote for me?"

"I already told you! I didn't!" she turned to glare, only to be met by a pair of damn straight serious onyx eyes that stare back at her with eyebrows narrowed, indicating that he was not going to buy that excuse.

"Fine. Believe what you want." She hissed, taking a seat on a nearby bench and crossing her arms, head turned away from Sasuke with a stubborn look. He sighed and tried to calm down, getting riled up wouldn't make things better. So he just sat down next to her and sighed, not attempting to ask her again. She was a tough code to crack, Haruno Sakura. He can crack any cryptogram puzzle anyone would throw at him, be it above ANBU level code or not. But Sakura was different, her mood swings were weird and hard to avoid, especially since he's her partner, seatmate and dorm mate. He had no escape from her punches and fury if she's in a bad mood. Hell, he wouldn't dare ask if it was that time of the month for her, fearing another broken jaw.

"Our mission starts the day after tomorrow, that's the final date." He said, earning a nod from her. "Be sure you've pack whatever's necessary for you, and to be on the safe side, bring as much weapons as you can," he paused. "Actually, just make sure you have extras." Another nod from her, and he glanced at the girl, eyeing her from the corner of his eyes. "You're sure you can handle this?" she nodded again, and he didn't bother to say anything else, knowing that she'd still remain silent.

A growl from her stomach caused him to abruptly turn his head to her as she flushed and cursed, getting up to buy something from one of the many food stalls. Sasuke tailed after her, paying for what she ordered. "I can pay for myself, Sasuke." She murmured, refusing to take the food that she ordered but was purchased by him. "Tch. You're with me, and me being a guy, it's only right that I pay." He took the bag and placed it on her hands, leaving her gritting her teeth in annoyance as they moved to another food stall. "I'm paying this time." She said.

"Don't make me take your wallet again."

"You won't be taking anything." She hissed, putting her wallet inside her kimono, on the chest area. He raised a brow at this. "How are you going to pay without having to take your wallet out of that place? You're going to attract a lot of men… to stare." He blinked when she paid the owner of the stall with her own money, yet he didn't even see her take her wallet out. "How did…"

"Even ninjas can do magic tricks." She muttered, smirking and turning away. He sighed and followed her, getting ticked at her attitude. "What's up with you anyway?" he asked, not used to her behavior.

"…You." She said, turning around with a glare. "You're my problem."

* * *

"Hm. Amusing, these two…"

Kakashi turned to the Hokage then back at Sasuke and Sakura.

"They're getting along pretty well, don't you think?"

Kakashi nodded; a smile behind his masked face as he observed, from Sarutobi's office window, how Sakura had yelled and how Sasuke retorted angrily. She seemed to growl in annoyance before making a move to walk away again, when Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, their eyes meeting, noses almost touching and lips so close yet so far. He watched as Sasuke mentioned something to her, stared while Sakura failed miserably to keep her blush from showing. Their glares were intensifying that the silver-haired jounin resisted the urge to jump over there and push Sakura to Sasuke to make their lips touch.

"Yup. They certainly make a great pair of in-denial fools." Kakashi said, taking an orange book out of his back pocket and opening it to read the contents, yet despite the words his eyes read, his mind kept going back to his two students. _"It's only a matter of time before they finally snap."_

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

_Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 6: Lovebirds_

"Sensei…"

Kakashi looked up from his book to see Naruto shakily raise a hand, head turned towards Sasuke and Sakura who were standing and glaring at each other, at the same time, throwing insults back and forth, the whole class watching. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Aren't you going to stop them or at least, tell them to break it up?"

He eyed Naruto then at the couple who fought like old married couples. "Nah. We can't get in the way of lovebirds Naruto." The noise stopped as Sasuke and Sakura's head lowered at what Kakashi said, slowly turning to him with bangs shadowing their eyes, the whole class silent and awaiting what was to happen next. "You see," Kakashi continued. "If you tear the lovebirds apart, the one left would die in misery." He grinned behind his mask and simply caught and avoided the kunai and shuriken thrown at him by the ANBU and Jounin.

* * *

_A/N: Well, hope this long chapter is satisfying for now! Up next, Ai no Tsubasa! Though it may take a while as well._


	6. Lovebirds

**Genjutsu**

Fear is an emotion that should be erased from the system of a ninja. One should not feel it, or tremble in front of it. One must face it to overcome it, not to be shadowed by it. But the problem is, ninjas are still humans, therefore, these emotions, especially fear, will eventually find its way back into the human's heart and brain. And so, that is what's currently running through the blood of each ninja who was in the way of two, clearly pissed off, students of Konoha…

Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura…

"Aww man, they're at it again…" a Chuunin said, scurrying away to avoid the two seething ninjas. One was verbally abusing the other, who remained silent and indifferent to what the other was accusing him of.

"Will you listen to me?!" Sakura demanded, grabbing his collar and pulling him down. Curse his damn height and her small figure. "I'm talking here and you're purposely ignoring me!"

He scoffed and pulled her wrists away. "You're giving me a good reason to." He shot back coolly, pocketing his hands and making his way to class, his pink-haired partner stomping after him, rushing to block his path, so he had no choice but to stop, less he wants to walk over her. Hmm… that may not be a bad idea.

"That's it Uchiha. You're really getting on my nerves!"

"And you think you're not getting on mine?"

"Ugh! You're impossible! You're annoying! You're – you're-"

He gave a smug smirk and a raised brow, knowing very well that it pisses her off when he does that. "I'm _what_?"

She turned red and pulled onto her long hair, yelling profanities as she turned and stomped her way to class, cursing her ANBU partner who stood there, watching her, the smirk still on his lips as he decided to walk to class as well.

Uchiha – 1

Haruno – 0

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Lovebirds**_

This was lovely. Two of his students were fighting.

Correction.

One was yelling her head off, the other seemed to retort calmly.

Yeah. That's a better way to describe the argument.

"Sensei…"

"Hm?" he turned to see Hinata raising her hand, eyeing the two who were still having a battle. "Yes Hinata?"

"This could get out of hand."

"Oh, don't worry. They'll eventually grow tired."

Boy, how wrong he was. Apparently, Sasuke just said something that pissed Sakura further, leading her to stand up and give another insult, which, from the looks of it, damaged Sasuke's pride, which also led to him getting up from his seat and return another comeback.

"Sensei…"

Kakashi looked up from his book to see Naruto shakily raise a hand; head turned towards Sasuke and Sakura who were standing and glaring at each other, at the same time, throwing insults back and forth, the whole class watching. "Yes Naruto?"

"Aren't you going to stop them or at least, tell them to break it up?"

He eyed Naruto then at the couple who fought like old married couples. "Nah. We can't get in the way of lovebirds Naruto." The noise stopped as Sasuke and Sakura's head lowered at what Kakashi said, slowly turning to him with bangs shadowing their eyes, the whole class silent and awaiting what was to happen next. "You see," Kakashi continued. "If you tear the lovebirds apart, the one left would die in misery." He grinned behind his mask and simply caught and avoided the kunai and shuriken thrown at him by the ANBU and Jounin.

"What did you say you freakin' pervert?!" Sakura yelled. Apparently, respect was thrown out the window.

Kakashi gave another smile behind his mask. "Oh, let me rephrase that." He said. "You'll both die when torn apart."

"That's it!" Sakura used her desk as leverage and attacked Kakashi who merely ducked to avoid getting hit. "Now, now Sakura, a ninja must not let emotions overcome him, or in your case," he chuckled. "Don't take your anger out on me just because you and Sasuke over there had a lover's spat."

"Why you-"

Her punch was blocked. "Everyone outside." Kakashi said, still reading his book. "You too, Sakura."

* * *

He eyed each and every one of his students before deciding to announce what was going to happen. "This is another test of teamwork. But this time, instead of the usual two on two or one on one, we're going for ten against two."

Everyone stared at Kakashi.

"I'll be picking five pairs, afterwards, ask for another pair to fight against the ten people. It's a test to see how you and your partner can fend off with many enemies, whether from your level or higher." He took a clipboard. _"And like I said," _he turned to eye Sasuke and Sakura. _"You'll both die when torn apart."_

"Neji and Tenten, Lee and Karin, Shikamaru and Temari, Sai and Ino, and lastly, Naruto and Hinata..!" He finished calling the five pairs who stood up. Last time, Sai was absent and Temari had to go back to Suna with her brothers for an emergency. But now that they were both here, they can be paired up with their respective partners. "And our lucky pair will be…" he pretended to close his eyes and circle his pen around the clipboard. When he stopped, he smiled and eyed Sasuke and Sakura, who both got the meaning.

"What a coincidence. We get to see Sasuke and Sakura battle against ten people." Of course, he didn't bother to say that he did that on purpose.

The two sighed and got up, meeting each other's glares first before heading up front.

Kakashi took this as his time to whisper to Neji: "Force them apart." The male Hyuuga nodded but had questioning eyes. Kakashi smiled behind the mask he wore. "I'd like to teach them a lesson on what I said earlier." And he turned to the rest. "Rules stay the same. Fight to the finish! And no, I didn't mean kill each other." He stopped and turned to a new arrival. "Oh, and, This is a cross of Taijutsu class as well."

The students turned to see Gai with a grin. "In other words, no ninjutsu or genjutsu is allowed. Fight on taijutsu alone." He eyed Sasuke, Neji and Hinata, as well as Sakura. "For you three, the sharingan and byaakugan can be allowed, and for Sakura, her super strength can be considered as taijutsu."

And he told the ninjas to begin.

Neji, as instructed, forced the pair apart by taking on Sasuke first after activating his byaakugan. Sakura got held back by Ino, who got the message that they should separate the two. Sai, Karin, Shikamaru, Ino and Temari took on Sakura, while Lee, Naruto, Hinata and Tenten assisted Neji in handling the Uchiha.

"Shit." Sasuke cursed, evading Neji and Hinata's attempts to close his chakra points. If he lets them, he won't be able to use his sharingan, which would be a disadvantage against the two Hyuugas. _"They're pretty fast too." _He tried to come up with an idea to get them both off of his back, and when an idea clicked in his head when he realized that the two were running towards him, he smirked. _"Bingo." _Seeing as he was in the middle of the two, he waited for the right time before jumping, his smirk growing when he saw Neji hit Hinata and vice versa. _"Heh. Goodbye byaakugan."_

He followed it up by tossing a few string bound kunai at the two to bind them both together.

"Got you."

He was forced to let go when Naruto had charged at him from behind with a Rasengan.

"What the-" in a flash, Kakashi had intercepted by grabbing Naruto's wrist and tossing him aside. "You're out, Naruto."

"What?! WHY?!"

Gai sighed. "You used a ninjutsu when I specifically said that only taijutsu is allowed! Weapons are not prohibited though."

"Now you tell me." Tenten said, before charging at Sasuke with the weapons she summoned from her scroll.

"Ah shit." Sasuke dodged the upcoming assault, instantly sprinting away when Lee tried to kick him, hitting the ground instead. _"Crap. That crater would've been me." _He thought, studying his enemies. _"They're pretty tough alright, and it'll be hard to win against them all. Though I've gotten a bit of advantage after getting rid of the byaakugan, so it wouldn't be as hard as it should've been when sneaking up on the two Hyuugas, but…" _he eyed Lee. _"He's going to be a problem, he's pretty fast too, and strong. If I'm not careful, I'll surely lose." _He turned to Tenten. _"And she may not be much of a threat at first, but her weapons are deadly. Some are even coated with poison." _he clicked his tongue. _"To top it off, ninjutsu and genjutsu aren't allowed. So I have to rely on my speed, counterattacks, combos and sharingan."_

"What's the matter, Uchiha? Cold feet?" Lee taunted.

"Hn. As if." He shot back. _"I just need to turn their own attack against them. But… how?"_

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura wasn't having a great time on her own either. She was just glad that Sai and Temari can't use their special attacks, but it still didn't mean they don't know taijutsu. They were pretty good. What made it hard to fight Temari was her huge fan. Because even if she didn't need ninjutsu, she can still control the wind by waving her fan, and it was legal in this battle.

"_I wonder how I can get out of this..?" _she thought, ignoring how Karin had groaned from behind. Somehow, Sakura managed to knock her out by slamming her against a tree after a hard and chakra-filled punch. Ino was hard to beat earlier, since she was pretty good at taijutsu too, but she managed to knock out the blonde. Shikamaru seemed to just assist, and barely moved a muscle, so it was Sai and Temari who troubled her.

"_And as much as I'd hate to say it," _she glanced at Sasuke who was currently being engaged in a battle with Lee. _"He has it harder. Neji and Hinata may have been rendered from using byaakugan, and I admit, it was genius of him when he jumped away, but they could still give a good fight." _She bit her lower lip. _"Lee is a tough taijutsu ninja, he's Gai-sensei's apprentice, and his speed can match Sasuke's. Plus Tenten's unlimited supply of weapons could really give him a hard time and…"_ she lowered her head a bit. _"I'm worried about him…"_

She shook her head. _"No, Sasuke is an ANBU level. He can stand his ground, I'm sure." _She took a deep breathe in. _"Yeah, I believe he can do it. Now, I just need to focus and win this fight. Besides," _she smirked. _"I'm not going to let him believe I'm weak, I need to prove him wrong."_ She rushed, head on at Temari who braced herself, using her folded fan to shield the kick Sakura sent, but was shocked when Sakura used that as a leverage and catapult to shoot herself towards Sai, punching the guy square in the face, which sent him flying almost a hundred feet away, his back crashing into a tree.

"Damn." Shikamaru cursed, eyes widening when he didn't know Sakura had this kind of speed in her. She gave a roundhouse kick, also sending Shikamaru flying to where Sai was, landing on Sai at that. "One more." She said to herself, turning to Temari who gave a haughty smirk. "Alright, so you kick ass, about time I get a decent fight."

Sakura grinned. "I'd gladly give you a memorable one, a fight that you can share when you go back to Suna, a fight in which you will lose."

"Hmph. Too haughty." Temari snapped, charging to attack the girl who dodged and sent a powerful punch to the ground, causing some rocks to fly. Temari cursed and jumped away, trying to locate Sakura despite all the dust and rocks flying to block her vision.

"Too slow!" She yelled, kicking Temari from behind which caused the blonde to fall on the ground. Without giving the Suna student a chance to recover, Sakura gave a chakra-filled punch on the ground, right next to Temari's head to scare her a bit. She smirked when she saw how the blonde's eyes were wide from shock. "Say goodnight!" she said with a grin before hitting a pressure point on her neck, temporarily making Temari unconscious. "Heh. Victory." She turned to see Sasuke already got rid of the Hyuugas after copying their taijutsu.

And since weapons were allowed, the senbon needles he threw at the two Hyuugas had punctured right through the neck, immobilizing them both. He only had Lee and Tenten left to worry about, since Naruto was already out from the beginning.

"Aw man, Lee…" she murmured, rushing towards the two men's fight.

* * *

"Is this all the ANBU from Oto can do against a Konoha Jounin?!" Lee yelled with such intensity that made Gai proud.

"No Lee!"

Sasuke stopped himself from delivering the kick he was about to send at the same time Lee almost wasn't able to prevent a bone-cracking punch.

"Tch. Damn it Sakura! You could've been hurt!"

Kakashi's ears moved a bit when he detected the tone of Sasuke's voice. It sounded worried and very concerned.

"Lee," Sakura began, glaring at the teen who suddenly felt goose bumps. "Do you dare to hurt me?"

"I… no fair Sakura! It is your partner whom I wish to fight! Never in my life have I dreamed to hurt you! I have vowed to protect you with my life and that is true..! And I-"

He went on, and on…

Sasuke just sweat dropped and slowly placed his foot down, turning to Sakura who sighed and placed a hand on her head. Now he got what she was planning. She was taking advantage of Lee's "undying love" for her.

"No Lee! You must fight!" Gai yelled. "You're so close to victory!"

"But Gai-sensei! It is Sakura in front of me! I do not wish to harm her at all!"

"Listen to me Lee! She can only accept your love if you defeat her and show her how worthy you truly are!"

"…Oh shit." Sakura cursed when Lee's eyes shone with such fiery intent and directed them to Sakura. "For you to accept my feelings, I will defeat you! Please find it in your heart to forgive me if ever I will hurt you badly!" and he started to deliver fast punches and kicks that Sakura found difficult to avoid.

"_Darn it! I had a hard time facing Sasuke back then, now I have to face Lee?"_

"Tch." Sasuke quickly pulled Sakura out of the way and blocked a kick meant to hit her head. "I can take care of myself Uchiha!"

"Hn, I know." He muttered, not in the mood for another argument. "But I'd feel better knowing you're safer."

"I am not a little girl!"

"You sure act like one."

And their spat continued even as Sasuke continued his brawl with Lee and Sakura assisted from time to time.

Amidst all this, they have forgotten that Tenten was still in the game.

"Sasuke, watch out!"

The ANBU looked from Sakura to behind him and spotted Tenten throwing a chain directed to him. Cursing when he got caught, Sakura made a move to help her partner out but Lee once again prevented the female Jounin from interfering.

"LEE! I swear, if you don't stop now I will forever hate you!" she yelled.

"GAI-SENSEI!!"

Cue the waterfall tears…

"No Lee! It is only to deceive you! Continue to fight and prove your worth!"

"Gai-sensei that's cheating!" Sakura yelled, blocking another attack from the younger version of the taijutsu teacher.

"Can't believe I caught myself an ANBU." Tenten grinned, pulling onto the chains. "And how easy it was."

Sasuke turned to glare at her, ending up as a smirk which surprised Tenten. He jumped onto the air and forced his body to slam against hers, causing them both to hit the ground. As she was recovering, he quickly rolled to the side to loosen the chains a bit before managing to escape and throwing a few kunai with explosive tags attached to them to Tenten, who cursed and rolled away, coughing as smoke surrounded the field. "Look who's caught who now." Sasuke hissed, hitting a pressure point behind her neck to render her unconscious.

"One more to go." He turned to Lee and rushed towards the battle when he noted how Sakura had already begun to stagger. At this, he wasted no time to pump chakra into his legs and start running in-between Lee and Sakura, ducking to avoid the punch from the male Jounin at the same time, kick Lee's chin upwards, sending him in the air. He soon jumped and did a series of kicks that sent Lee forcefully back on the ground, knocking him out.

Kakashi, from out of nowhere, blew onto a whistle to end the fight. "Looks like the winners are still our famous lovebirds." He grinned as Sasuke panted and wiped the bead of sweat on his chin with his forearm before turning to Sakura who was on the brink of chakra exhaustion. "Gaki." He muttered, catching her when she fell forward. "Shut up… Uchiha…"

He couldn't help but sigh.

"Take Haruno to the clinic, the rest of you, press the punctured points of the others." Gai ordered, taking Lee and shaking him awake.

* * *

Sasuke carried Sakura on his back and headed to the clinic, having finally caught his breath. On the way, he only realized how he seemed so tired over a battle like this. Sure Konoha had exceptional ninjas, but for an ANBU of his level, he wondered why he had hard time in defeating the ninjas.

"…Did… we win..?"

He turned to Sakura to answer. "Yeah, just get some rest."

"Mm…" she closed her eyes, and he continued walking, eyes glancing back at her when he felt her arms tighten around him.

_If we tear the lovebirds apart, the one left would die in misery…_

Kakashi's words echoed in his head, and he stopped to reflect on it.

_You'll both die when torn apart…_

"Sou…" he murmured, smiling a bit when he caught how Sakura looked so happy and content sleeping on his back, her arms around him, as if refusing to let go. "He meant teamwork." He murmured. "If Sakura hadn't interfered earlier, I would've lost due to Lee's speed. And if I didn't help her out when Lee was about to deliver a finishing blow, she could've lost." And with that, he continued his way to the clinic.

"_Heh. So, we're lovebirds now, huh Sakura?"_

* * *

_**To be continued…**_

_Next on Genjustu: Chapter 7: Sasuke's Past_

"Why did you suddenly freeze like that?! You could've died!"

He didn't answer but just remained perfectly still.

"Sasuke..?"

"…I saw _her._" He suddenly said.

* * *

_A/N: My computer is dead people. I can only use my brother's PC whenever he isn't busy with work! So sorry for the short and sucky action.  
_


	7. Sasuke's Past

_A/N: So, in the Naruto world, they call some of the places as countries or villages, let's stick to that, since this is just an AU version of the anime itself – meaning they live in the modern world, yet it still revolves around ninja stuffs. So, instead of planes as means for transportation in another country or village, they can use trains, cabs, and any vehicle used on land. Don't ask. Just stick with it. XD

* * *

_

**Genjutsu**

She yawned and glanced at her partner who didn't seem to mind the lack of sleep they both have.

"Are you even human?" she asked, eyes half-closed.

"I'm used to this." He muttered, not taking his eyes off of the folder which contained the details of their mission. He's been reading it ever since they got to the station. "Go sleep if you want, the train won't be here for another hour or so."

"Then why the heck did we leave so early?"

"We missed the first train because you move so slowly."

"Oh, so now it's my fault?"

"Hn." He glanced at her. "It's a pain to wake you up."

She twitched. "One of these days, I'll strangle the life out of you." She threatened, a vein popping at the side of her head when he just smirked at her.

"Until that day comes," he closed the folder and ruffled her pink hair. "Be a good girl and just do what you're supposed to do."

"Hmph." She crossed her arms and pouted, head turned elsewhere while Sasuke just stared at her.

"You better buy me breakfast." She murmured, sulking slightly when she hugged her bag and closed her eyes, yelping when he pulled her down for her head to rest on his lap. "I think you'd sleep much better this way." He said, eyeing the horizon, which resulted to him missing the blush on her face. "And yeah, I'll buy you breakfast, just keep quiet."

"Hmph. Whatever." She turned on her side, gave a small grin and drifted off to sleep, feeling comfortable when one of his hands began to stoke her hair, and since she had her eyes closed, she didn't see how he looked at her and gave a soft smile.

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Sasuke's Past**_

"Finally..!" Sakura said out loud, entering the train as soon as the doors opened.

Her happy mood did not last long though, when she saw that there was only enough space for two people at the very end of the train, and that meant sitting very close to her partner.

"Ugh." She groaned.

"Hn. Suck it up." He muttered, sitting at the very end of the bench, leaving Sakura no choice but to take the spot in-between Sasuke and an elderly woman.

"I feel like a sardine…"

"Maybe you are one."

"Shut up Uchiha!" She snarled, the train stopping at the next station as an elderly man came in, using his cane as support.

He eyed the whole place for a while, before his attention turned towards Sakura who was verbally abusing Sasuke.

"My, my, quite a feisty girl you have there." He commented with a chuckle.

The two looked up, and Sakura was about to argue when Sasuke decided to answer for her.

"Sorry, but… she's not my girlfriend." He shrugged. "I mean, she's still in-denial."

Sakura spluttered out the word: "What"

"Ah, a stubborn girl." The man commented, nearly losing his balance when the train took off. "Blast these contraptions! The hand rails are too high," he looked at Sakura. "Do you mind… erm…"

"Oh, no," she smiled. "You can have my seat."

"Ah, no! A lady shouldn't be offering her seat to a man, and I would feel guilty, so maybe you can… sit on your friend's lap here instead?"

"E-eh? No! I… I don't mind at all! Have my seat!" she laughed nervously.

"No, I refuse to take your offer if you'll be left standing."

"Take mine instead." Sasuke said, getting up. "I don't really mind standing up."

"Like I said before, I wouldn't want to feel guilty, and really, I… I'll just…"

Sakura sighed and pulled Sasuke back to his seat, and then got up and sat on his lap, blushing and looking away.

"Hn. I didn't think you'd agree."

"I had no choice." She muttered, the old man taking her previous spot and thanking the two repeatedly.

"Ne-chan!"

Sakura looked up and saw a little boy and a little girl seated in between their parents.

"Yes?" She asked politely, with a smile.

"Nii-chan said you were in-denial, what does that mean?" the little boy asked.

"E-eh? Well, it's… he's…"

"Your ne-chan doesn't like me." Sasuke answered, smirking when Sakura glared at him.

"How come ne-chan?" The little girl asked with a look of disbelief, ignoring how her parents had tried to quiet her and apologized to the two teenagers. "I mean, nii-chan is…" She blushed and smiled shyly at Sasuke. "Nii-chan is pretty good-looking…"

Sakura twitched. "Him..? No he's not; he's the ugliest guy I've ever met."

"You're not serious, are you?" the old man asked. "I mean, this lad reminds me of how I looked back in my youth!"

Not wanting to be rude, Sakura decided to just smile. "Please do not compare yourself to him; I'm pretty sure you looked a lot better."

"I think you have it the other way around, young lady." The elder man chuckled. "Your friend here probably has the ladies in your school or hometown after him!"

"I don't know what they see in him." Sakura muttered, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Come on ne-chan, you don't mean that!" The little boy said. "You're really pretty; you're both a perfect match!"

"Like a princess and her prince!" The little girl added enthusiastically.

"We apologize for our children," The father of the two said, but gave a smile. "However, I can't help but agree with them."

"Yes," The mother provided back-up. "It's a big mystery as to why you two haven't decided to hook up."

"Thank you for all the compliments, but this guy is definitely not boyfriend material."

"You hurt my feelings." Sasuke said with a sigh. "And to think, I saved your life a lot of times."

The little girl gave a squeal, clapping her hands together furiously.

"And yeah, why haven't we hooked up yet?" he asked with a smirk, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You might fall if I don't hold you."

"How sweet..." The mother cooed.

"Missy, I still don't understand why you don't like this lad." The old woman next to the old man piped up, apparently listening to the conversation. "If you don't like him, I'll gladly have him."

"I don't think you'll live long enough to handle this guy." Sakura turned to Sasuke. "And you, let go, I can perfectly take care of myself!"

"I'm just worried." He faked a pout. "Is this how you treat your childhood _sweetheart_?" he grinned.

"W-what?" she would have fallen if he wasn't holding her.

"So you're childhood sweeties eh," The old man laughed. "Then all the more reason to be together..!"

"_Fine, two can play that game!"_ Sakura thought. "Actually, I don't mind being his girlfriend, if he _actually_ makes a move to court me! I mean, he's so… slow! A girl can't wait that long!"

Sasuke twitched.

"So it's your fault after all, boy!" the man slapped Sasuke's shoulder jokingly. "Quit stalling and make your move! With a girl like her, any other boy can practically have her!"

"Nii-chan! Do something!" The little girl whined. "You can't let your princess fall into the hands of someone else!"

"And ne-chan can't just go to someone else!" her brother added. "Right mom..? Right dad..?"

The parents just nodded to pacify their kids.

"Well, if you're not making your move on the girl, then I'll take 'ya home with me!" The old woman exclaimed.

Sasuke sighed and leaned his forehead on Sakura's shoulder, causing her to blush, and their audience to cheer a bit.

"You _rejected_ me." He said, narrowing his eyes to make it believable. "You _avoided_ me during the Valentine's Day festival the school held."

"You didn't even confess!"

"I _did_."

"No you _didn't_!"

"Yes, I _did_." He countered. "You just _didn't hear_ me, because you _kept running away_ from me," he held back a smirk at her baffled expression. "And don't get me started on when we were still kids."

"What the heck?"

"You left our hometown without saying a word to me," he could feel the amusement from the people. "And it took me years to find you."

Sakura made a mental note to beat this guy up once they get off of the train.

"I even had to convince you for days to _at least _visit our hometown! Really, you had everyone worried sick!"

"And why would _you _care? I mean, you were probably _forced_ to look for me!"

"Yeah," he admitted. "My heart forced me to find you."

"_What the hell..? Where did Sasuke even learn how to speak like that..?"_

"So, will you _please_ just let me love you?"

Sakura turned red and couldn't find the right words to answer back.

"Let me love you more than a friend, because I can't stay as your best friend any longer."

She had to lower her head further, so that her bangs could hide her blushing face, especially when his forehead remained on her shoulder.

"Will you let me?"

"…Yeah." She whispered in reply, unsure if this was part of the act or if it was true. "I… I think you've proven yourself."

"Seal it with a kiss, you two!" The elder woman said, shaking her right fist. "Come on now or I'll kiss 'ya myself lad!"

Sasuke gave a soft sigh and raised his head to look at her, while she turned hers to his a little bit.

Slowly, he leaned in, his lips touching hers lightly, and he pulled away as soon as he came.

"You can do better than that! Kiss her, give her a real kiss!"

There was no satisfying the old woman, apparently.

* * *

"Bye ne-chan, nii-chan!"

Sakura smiled and waved, while Sasuke just gave a curt nod before turning back to the folder he took out from his black and blue duffel bag, his right hand holding onto her left one, only letting go once the train had gone.

"According to the Hokage, he has a friend of his here in Wave who owns an inn."

"Wow, Asuma-sensei wasn't kidding about Wave country being this… poor."

"Hn, finding out the reason why this used to be flourishing country turned into this is a part of our mission." He narrowed his eyes at the words written on the file. "The Kokuzoku may be the reason behind this country's sudden downfall."

"Right, so, what now?" she looked at him, and then punched the back of his head.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"That's for what you made me go through in the train."

"Tch, it's called _acting_." He said the word slowly. "Ac-ting."

"I know the word you idiot!"

"Hn." He shrugged and picked up his bag from the ground. "Besides, as a Jounin, you should have handled the situation more expertly, but it was good enough."

"Oh I'll show you that I'm good at acting!"

"You can prove it to me during this mission; however, we'll start once we find the inn."

"Fine, let's go."

"And don't think that the second kiss from earlier meant anything."

She stopped, recalling how real their lip lock seemed, and she felt frustrated at how he said that it meant nothing.

"…Gaki?"

Unsure why she was feeling upset, she ended up running pass him, purposely bumping him and ignoring how he called her out.

Twitching, he picked up her backpack and sprinted after her, cursing inwardly when she ran into the marketplace, the busiest area so far in Wave.

"What the heck is her problem?" he seethed, and ran into the crowd in hopes of spotting his partner. If what the Hokage said was true, Sakura has a poor sense of direction in foreign places.

Not to mention that Sasuke has the map.

* * *

The sound of a low growl made her twitch, and she tried to ignore her stomach's complaint for being empty.

"_That jerk didn't buy me breakfast like he said he would." _She thought, sighing and wrapping her arms around her knees. _"Stupid rain for pouring today." _She scowled, shivering a bit from the cold she felt due to getting wet. Wearing the uniform of Konoha wasn't exactly the brightest idea written in the school rules. Sure that in every mission, ninjas must wear their forehead protectors – except for the ANBU ranked ones – and respective uniforms, in order to take pride of where they learned their techniques and skills. However, it was a dumb idea for missions that involved outside the country of their origin.

"Ah-choo!" she sniffed and sighed. _"Fine, it's my fault for being upset and running off…" _she pouted. _"But come on! This isn't a big country! An ANBU like Sasuke should have found me in an hour or less! But from the looks of things, it'll take him a whole day! Ugh!" _she lowered her head further. _"We arrived here by nine in the morning, and it's already six thirty - or maybe seven - and I'm hungry..! Heck, I even left my bag with him..! Along with my wallet, phone, everything..!"_

The lightning flashed, followed by its deafening sound, and Sakura jumped, her palms covering her ears while her eyes shut tight. Besides water, she also feared the sound of thunder, and hated the sight of crackling lightning during a storm.

"_Sasuke…" _she tried hard to fight back her tears. _"Where are you..? I'm… I'm scared…"_

"Tch. Damn it."

Her eyes opened wide in surprise, before turning to the hole that led to either the entrance or exit of the penguin shaped house of the children's playground.

"…Sasuke?" she whispered his name to herself, before crawling out, her head poking outside a bit to see if it was really her partner.

"Fucking weather…"

Yeah, it was him.

"Stupid mission…"

And he was standing there, soaked from head to toe, some of his bangs sticking to his face, his spiked up hair still defied gravity, yet it drooped a bit, and his eyes weren't their usual black, but sharingan red, shifting from left to right, his breathing a bit ragged, fists clenched, feet slightly apart, and his left hand looking like he was holding a ball of blue lightning.

"_What the..?"_ she froze when lightning flashed, and she was amazed when she saw him glare at it and cut it with the use of the famous technique Kakashi invented. "…Wow."

"Tch. That girl…" He murmured, the chidori fading a bit as his eyes returned to their normal eye color. "I swear…" he grunted, the chidori long gone. "I swear I'll-"

She couldn't hear the next words since lightning struck again, and the deafening sound that followed came. She got up and ran to him, yelling his name which startled him that when he turned around, she was in his arms, her fingers clenching the fabric of his shirt as she cried.

"Sakura..?"

"I'm scared!" she said, shaking. "I'm so scared..!"

He looked at her for a while, then at the dark sky, before sighing and wrapping his arms around her. "Wave is a country known for its weather," she pulled away a bit to look at him, seeing a playful smirk on his lips. "So if you're afraid of a weather like this, stop and think before running away, alright?" he bent down a bit to carry her in his arms. "And also, don't ever do this again; it's a pain to look for you."

She was too afraid of the storm to argue, so she just remained quiet and clung to him, burying her face deeper into his soaked shirt, and Sasuke decided that maybe he'd have to go ninja. So instead of running around like normal humans would, he jumped on a roof of a restaurant, managing to move fast enough to not be seen and identified by the civilians.

* * *

"Here."

Sakura looked up when he handed her a towel.

"Go take a shower so that you won't catch a cold."

"What about you? You've been wet the whole day!"

"Hn. Now you worry?" he sighed and shook his head. "I'll be fine; I'm used to this after going through a lot of missions."

"…Exactly how many missions have you done?"

"A total of ninety, maybe…" He shrugged. "I lost count."

"How many A-ranks..?"

"Hmm… around sixteen…"

"S-ranks..?"

"Six."

"This included?"

"No."

"…so you've been through a lot, huh?"

"Oto makes sure you go through a lot as a Jounin, especially an ANBU." He turned to their bags, glad that he decided to head to the inn first to drop them off before looking for his partner. "If you're done with the interrogation, go take a shower and change into some dry clothes."

"O-okay."

She entered the built-in bathroom of the inn, and he gave another sigh before removing his white polo and black shirt that were dripping wet.

"Sasuke, I forgot…" she trailed off when she saw him topless and wet. "Um…"

"Forgot what?" he asked, not looking at her but concentrating on drying his hair with his towel.

"Condoms – I mean..!" she stuttered when he turned to her with a raised brow. "Um… um…"

"…You forgot to bring… _what_?" he didn't exactly hear what she said, and he thought it was something important.

"…My… clothes…" she said meekly, lowering her head to hide her blushing face. "Could you get my bag..?"

"…Hn." He pulled the towel away from his head and walked to where their bags were, giving Sakura a chance to stare at him a bit longer as he picked up her black and red backpack, and then headed back to her, and again, her face turned red. "Here." He handed her the bag and then turned his back to her, looking back when he heard her curse. "Now what?"

"Eh? Um… it's nothing!" she slammed the bathroom door shut, and Sasuke could only blink, stare, and raise a brow.

Sakura tried to calm down when her breathing was ragged, and she shook her head a few times to get rid of… certain images.

"_Why oh why did he have to be topless and wet? Those two things should be illegal for him! He should be sent to jail for that! Ugh!" _she banged her head repeatedly against the bathroom walls, before sighing and sliding down onto the tiled floor, eyes staring at the white ground. _"Keep it together Sakura…" _she thought to herself. _"This is a mission, and Sasuke didn't seem to care or felt affected in being shirtless, so I shouldn't be too."_

She opened her eyes as a thought came to mind.

"…No, no, no, no! I will _not_ do _that_! No matter how curious I am, I won't!" she paused for a moment. "Okay… maybe it's a good way to train myself in the art of seducing subtly… ack! No! What am I thinking?" she placed her hands on her head and pulled onto her hair, believing that it would make 'sense' come back to her head. "But it could also pass of as acting nonchalantly, and it could be useful for this mission and… no! I'm just making up excuses! Ugh!"

* * *

He heard the door open, just in time as he finished changing into a dry shirt and knee-length shorts.

"What's with all the noise you made?" he asked, taking his wet clothes and a few hangers. "And hang your clothes in the bathroom so that they'll dry a bit faster."

"Yeah, sure…" she said, trying hard not to blush.

She knew this was a bad idea, wearing only a large shirt, which ended up until the middle of her thighs, and her underwear - no shorts underneath, but she wanted to know if he would be affected or not.

"Sakura."

"Y-yeah?" she looked up and couldn't help but turn red when he was eyeing her bare legs. _"Is he..?"_

"Do you mind wearing… shorts?" he furrowed his brows before looking up at her. "Or do you really prefer to sleep in just… _that_?"

"It's… comfortable."

"Hn." He shrugged and walked pass her, entering the bathroom to hang his clothes. "Just make sure you won't catch a cold."

"…_So that's why he asked." _She twitched. _"Does this guy even have hormones?"_ she looked towards the bed, another idea forming into her mind when she saw that there was only one bed, and it was big enough for two. "So, what time do we have to wake up tomorrow for the mission..?"

"I'd say around eight, since you'd most likely still be asleep at seven."

"…Okay, so, we sleep now?"

Sasuke walked out of the bathroom. "You haven't eaten anything, and it's not a good idea to sleep on an empty stomach."

"What about you? I bet you haven't eaten anything either!" she paused. "Oh wait, I doubt it, you had your wallet with you the whole time."

He sighed and crossed his arms. "I was too preoccupied in locating you in this place to bother about my stomach."

She looked at him, her cheeks turning a bit pink.

"So as soon as you change into something more appropriate, let's go." He took another pair of pants from his bag and pulled it on, not bothering to remove his shorts.

"You mean… you didn't eat, at all?"

"Hn."

She smiled, and then rushed off to change into something… conservative.

* * *

"Ramen… joy…"

He raised a brow at her, tugging a bit at the beanie on his head.

"I mean, I would have thought we'd eat somewhere else."

"Hn. I'm not a big fan of ramen either, but we're kind of in a rush."

She sighed and fixed her cap a bit, and then tugged her ponytail slightly. "So, how long should we keep our _henge_?"

"Until we return to the inn." He said. "We can't let anyone know of our appearance." He looked down at his bowl, noodles finished, leaving the soup left, wherein he could see his reflection, dark blue eyes staring back at him while a few dark brown strands fell to hide some parts of his face. "Besides, your hair color won't attract others this way."

Sakura gave an unladylike snort. She currently had her hair colored in the shade of light brown; her eyes were also at the color of blue. "Why do I have to be the younger sibling?"

"I act older than you."

"Are you saying that I'm childish?"

"Yes." He glanced at her. "You react too much, and that's what makes you childish."

"Hmph."

"And you pout a lot too."

"I get it, so just shut up," she glared. "_Nii-chan._"

"Good girl."

"I am so annoyed at you right now…" she looked up at her ramen to eye him, seeing his head turned elsewhere. "Now what?"

"Hn. I thought I saw someone I knew." He shrugged, turning back to her. "Anyway, if you're done, let's go."

* * *

"_Okay…"_ she thought to herself, breathing in, and then out. Her eyes gave a determined look, and she stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a large shirt. She saw how he read the mission file again, and she wondered why he kept doing so. "I've been meaning to ask you…" She began, forgetting what she was planning to do when he looked at her. "Why do you keep reading the information for this..?"

"In case I might find a clue or if ever I miss some details, I'll know earlier."

"Right." She said, scratching her left cheek before sighing. "I'm… going to bed." She walked over to one side and laid down, eyeing him since he had his back turned to her. "Aren't you..?"

"No." He said. "I still need to do something." He kept the files and pulled out a jacket from his bag. "Don't open the door without your henge activated." He told her, activating his before leaving the room.

She twitched. "So much for seducing him." She faced the ceiling and closed her eyes, a sad expression on her face when she recalled that their kiss earlier meant nothing. _"But why did it feel as if there was something..?"_ her face turned red as her eyes half-closed. _"Is this… one-sided?" _she asked herself. _"I know for a fact that I like him, but it's not like I'd admit it in front of him. Does he know..? Or is he really just dense?" _at the last thought, she scowled and sat up, glaring at the television. "Stupid Uchiha." And she switched the TV on just to get her mind off of her ANBU partner.

* * *

A man downed his alcoholic drink and gave out a satisfied sigh.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you were here..? I could have had our place arranged for you to save you money!"

"Hn. Thanks but I don't want to get you, Inari, Kaiza-san, and Tsunami-san involved."

"Ah geez Sasuke," he hiccupped. "After your team escorted me back here safely, I owe you!" he hiccupped again. "And also for defeating that guy… Zabuza, was it?"

"Yeah." He murmured. "Somehow, he knew that Kakashi was once my mentor; he wanted to take my head if he couldn't take his."

"Heh. As if." He muttered. "Inari's asking about you by the way, after I told him I'd be meeting you."

Sasuke's eyes softened for a bit. "How is he..?" he recalled the bratty kid Inari once was upon seeing him and his team of ANBU. Yet after defeating Zabuza, the kid pretty much wanted to be a ninja.

"No longer the same brat that you called him once." He chuckled. "So, you still have issues?"

Sasuke just smirked, recalling how much of a jerk he used to be. "What do you think?"

"Doubt it, since you're much more talkative right now." He commented. "Anyway, there's a reason as to why you wanted to meet up, and it's not just to say hello."

"Tazuna-san," Sasuke murmured, eyes scanning the pub to make sure no one suspicious was around. "Earlier, I thought I saw her, but… have you seen her here?"

The old man knew who Sasuke was talking about, and his jolly and drunken self reverted to that of a serious expression. "Kaiza said something about seeing her one time in the marketplace, and I'm pretty sure it was her when I took Inari for a walk down the harbor." He lowered his head a bit. "But if you plan on confronting her, be warned that she's in the company of a dangerous group."

The ANBU's fists clenched. "Kokuzoku."

"Yes, them." He looked around slightly and then back at Sasuke. "I know you have a mission related to them here, but don't go head on just because of her, Sasuke." He gave a warning look. "You may end up losing more than just your life." He pulled back and gave a tiny grin. "You have company with you right? And an experienced old geezer like myself should know how much this girl must mean to you." He chuckled. "Bring her with you sometime before you depart. I'm sure Inari would love to meet her, and also see you again."

"I'll… take note of that." The younger one answered. "Also, Tazuna-san," he paused for a while to choose his words carefully. "I've heard rumors about the Kokuzoku being lessened, is it true?"

"You know how your brother is."

"Aa. Oto can't even get him to take a day off in hunting those guys." He sighed silently. "No doubt we would both run into her someday." He fished out a few bills to pay for his and Tazuna's drink.

"Eh? Hey, I can-"

"It's fine, I got it." Sasuke cut off, getting up. "I did ask you to meet me here, it's only right that I pay for it."

"Yeah, yeah. Damn falcon of yours pecked me." Tazuna grunted and stood up as well. "Don't get distracted alright."

"I'll keep that in mind." They exited the pub and soon parted ways; right after Tazuna had made a comment about his henge appearance, saying that he preferred the original one.

Sasuke just shook his head in amusement and headed back to the place he and Sakura were staying in.

"_I've finally found you."_ He thought with narrowed eyes, an image of a woman entering his mind. _"This time, I'm not letting you go."_

When he was halfway near the inn, he stopped walking and glanced around, knowing for a fact that he was either being watched or followed.

To test it out, he used a different route, also to not let anyone know where he's staying, as well as to keep Sakura out of harm's way as much as possible.

He reached the children's playground a few minutes later, and he concluded that someone was really following him. So, he opted to act like a civilian to see if his pursuers would force him to reveal his identity.

Without hesitating, he sat on a swing and pretended as if he was reliving his childhood, even to a point of forcing a grin, yet he kept his guard up in case these people are persistent. From what he could sense, there's about more than three people, and he estimated them to be about a group of six at maximum.

"_Even an ANBU of my level won't get out of this one without a scratch, unless they're just thugs – which is unlikely, since I can sense a great amount of chakra from them."_

His eyes spotted a lone figure approaching, and upon seeing the scimitar, he knew that he's been found out.

"_Damn…"_

"You." One said.

He raised his head and continued to pretend he was just a civilian. "Do I know you guys?"

As he estimated, there were six of them that surrounded him.

"We'd be insulted if you didn't."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."

"Here," one pulled something out of his pocket. "This stolen shot of you betraying us might refresh your memory."

The ANBU took the picture and eyed it. _"The fuck?" _

He almost crushed the snapshot as he made a mental note to punch Kakashi when he and Sakura get back to Konoha.

Apparently, there was some guy out there who looked like his henge version – something Kakashi failed to find out.

"Sorry to say but my hair isn't like that," he murmured, handing the picture back while pulling off his beanie. "See?"

The man frowned and swiped the photo away from Sasuke's hand. "Fuck. Wrong guy," he glanced at his allies. "Whatever, take him out, he knows too much."

The young ANBU quirked a brow in amusement and smirked. "Do I?"

"Get him!"

He dodged to the left when a blade was supposed to stab him, and he jumped towards the top of the swing to avoid a punch. _"Hn. They're not ninjas and yet they have a huge amount of chakra stored within them."_ He made a few hand signs and stopped at the "tiger" seal. _"I'll only be needing one person to interrogate."_ And he released his Grand Fireball technique, afterwards, jumped towards them while doing another series of hand seals before slamming his palm down on the ground – summoning about six snakes that shot out to their chosen targets.

Five of the snakes had bitten onto their victims' necks, releasing enough venom to end their lives, while one had wrapped its slender body around the leader of the group.

"Y-You…" the man tried to speak. "Y-You're not… a civilian!"

"Hn." He approached the man while deactivating his henge as his eyes shifted to red. "You work for the Kokuzoku."

"H-How did…"

"They're the only ninja organization who hires normal people with large amount of chakra." He glanced at his summoned snake, and the creature tightened its grip around the man's body. "Now then, where are they?"

"L-Like I'd tell you!"

"You better, or you follow your comrades to the after life."

"Heh." He smirked. "As soon as I tell you, you'll kill me."

"That depends on how much information you can give." He narrowed his eyes. "You can choose whether to answer, or to just remain silent and meet your doom."

"Feh. Just kill me!"

"Wrong answer." The snake let the man go just as soon as Sasuke had stabbed a kunai at the man's chest, the tip of the blade near the heart. "Just so you know," he pressed the kunai deeper, making the man cry out. "I can find others who can provide me the information, so don't think I have nothing." He pulled the kunai out as the man coughed. "I'm not that stupid."

"Y-You're bluffing!"

"I'm not." He knelt down on one knee next to the man and fished out a wallet from his victim's coat. "Miruko Yohei," he read. "Your wife is Miruko Rui, and you have two kids who are in the first and third grade." He saw the man's eyes widen. "Miruko Ashika and Taiko."

"D-Don't you dare lay a finger on them!"

"I don't see how you can stop me." He tossed the wallet back at his face. "Maybe your kids will be spared, but I can't guarantee that until your wife tells me what she knows."

"They don't know anything!"

"I can tell when someone is lying, Yohei-san." He stood up. "And don't think I show any mercy to my victims – whether they're women or children or the elderly, I can still take their lives."

Yohei heard birds chirping, and he glanced at Sasuke's left hand to see a blue ball of electricity.

"Ch-Chidori…" he spluttered. "You can't be the white fang, then you must be…" he coughed. "Raven Uchiha…"

"You're talking about my brother." He materialized the blue ball into a long blade. "And he doesn't use Chidori."

Yohei's eyes widened. "Uchiha Sasu-" the Chidori ended his life before he could even complete the name.

* * *

Wave always experienced bad weather, even before the Kokuzoku had taken over.

So it's days like these that they actually forget about their problems and appreciate the rare sunny day.

A young boy in particular seemed much happier today compared to past sunny days, and the reason for that is quite simple – his family has two visitors.

"What? Are you leaving already?" the old man, Tazuna, asked with furrowed brows. "I told 'ya to drop by before you leave!"

He gave a small smirk at the old man and shook his head. "I came here not only to visit, Tazuna-san," he glanced at Sakura. "And this is my partner, Haruno Sakura."

The pink-haired Jounin smiled at the old man and bowed down a bit. "Nice to meet you."

"Hmph. Much more polite compared to you Sasuke," he snickered. "Are you sure she's just your partner?"

"Did you expect me to say girlfriend?"

"If that word were to come out of your mouth, I'd be petrified." He patted Sakura's head. "Nice to meet you as well." He motioned the two to follow. "Well, come on now, we can't keep the others waiting."

"You do realize that I did say the word girlfriend, and yet you're not… petrified."

"Hmph. An ANBU with a fast mouth, I hope she doesn't take after you."

Sakura just giggled at Tazuna.

"I notice no henge today." The old man said while glancing at them. "Got tired of them?"

"No," he sighed. "I received false information about our other identities."

"Sucks, but heck, who gives a damn?" he gave a toothy grin. "I did say I prefer the original."

"Hn."

Sakura tugged at the sleeves of Sasuke's grey hooded shirt, making him turn to her with a raised brow.

"Why are we here again instead of searching for…"

"Tazuna-san is like a _snitch_." He said. "He knows everything that's going on around here, some of them are detailed, and a few are just speculations."

"You trust this guy."

"I see no reason not to." He nodded once to Inari when the boy waved at him enthusiastically and rushed over to greet them.

"Long time no see!" he told the older ANBU, and then looked towards Sakura. "Wow, she's really pretty Sasuke-niichan."

"Hn, Don't let her looks fool you." He earned a punch on the face, but he quickly turned into a log as his true form reappeared behind Sakura. "Amazon woman."

She glared.

"But you've got to admit, she's strong." Inari whistled. "My name's Inari!"

Sakura's evil aura quickly turned calm as she looked at Inari with a smile. "Hi Inari, I'm Sakura."

"Are you Sasuke-niichan's girlfriend?"

She twitched. "I'd be surprised if some girl actually said yes to him."

"Actually, I'd be more surprised if a girl says no."

Sakura looked up to see a young-looking woman smiling at them.

"Sakura was it? I'm Tsunami, Inari's mother."

* * *

Sakura sighed softly before switching on the faucet to help Tsunami in cleaning up after dinner.

"I appreciate the help Sakura," Tsunami said with a smile after bringing in a few more used dishes and utensils. "But you really don't have to."

"No," she grinned. "I want to."

Tsunami nodded at that and proceeded to set the items down. "I've noticed though…" she began. "That you have… feelings for Sasuke?"

She nearly dropped the plate she was washing. "E-Excuse me?"

The older woman laughed. "The blush and reaction you just gave is a dead giveaway."

Sakura turned even redder at that. "I-what made you say I have…"

"You may seem to argue a lot with him, as I've witnessed during dinner, but I've never seen Sasuke be this talkative." She giggled. "As talkative as he could get that is."

She frowned. "He just likes to annoy me."

"It's his way of flirting with you, perhaps." Tsunami looked at the dishes. "When we first met him after he escorted my father here safely, he was completely… I don't know, serious and… professional. It made us wonder what had happened to him," she sighed. "I've never met a ninja who was so distant."

"Then his behavior tonight must have been such a big surprise."

"Indeed." Tsunami nodded. "I can't assume things, but I can tell that Sasuke cares for you, not in the same way he cares for his previous teammates – it's just… different."

Sakura thought back to the times he came to her rescue in school, and when he helped her understand Cryptogram despite how futile it must have seemed for both of them, and she wondered why an ANBU of his level actually managed to socialize fairly well with her on his first few days in Konoha…

"There must be something in you that made him act different."

"Maybe…" she unconsciously grazed her fingers on her forehead protector around her neck. "It still doesn't change the fact that he's such an arrogant bastard."

"Maybe around you, but to anyone, he isn't." She smiled. "What about you, Sakura, what made you like him?"

She lowered her hand to the sink and closed her eyes halfway. "I don't know," she murmured and switched off the faucet when she was done. "I thought I knew, but… I don't."

Tsunami smiled softly. "Liking someone for no reason… it usually means something."

Sakura's eyes widened when she looked at Tsunami.

"Tsunami-san, are you saying I lo-"

"Sakura-nechan!"

She got cut off when Inari came running in.

"Sasuke-niichan's looking for you, he says you both have to get going."

"I… I see." She nodded once and then turned to Tsunami. "Well, I have to go."

"Think about it, Sakura."

She just gave Tsunami a small grin.

* * *

Normally, he enjoyed the comfortable sounds of silence, but he found it weird when he was with Sakura.

"Hn. Problem?"

She nearly jumped at the sound of his voice and laughed nervously when he raised a brow at her.

"N-No. It's nothing."

He frowned. "Normally, when people say 'it's nothing', it usually means something."

She stuck her tongue out. "Don't even play Psychology on me."

"It's part of being an ANBU."

"Then maybe making someone like you is also part of being an ANBU?" her eyes widened and she quickly placed both hands on her mouth. _"Shit."_

He blinked, once, twice, thrice.

"Erm…"

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yeah, forget I said that." She quickly turned to continue walking, but his hand immediately grabbed her wrist, stopping her from escaping and dropping the conversation.

"Sakura."

She blushed slightly at how he said her name, but she knew it was just in her head, since Sasuke still maintained that serious expression.

"Don't jeopardize our mission."

She shut her eyes. "Don't you mean: don't jeopardize our relationship?" and she yanked her wrist free and took a few steps away from him before turning to meet his eyes with a glare. "I'm not like you Sasuke," she said. "I can't help it if I feel this way."

It didn't hurt her when he said nothing, but made her heart clench was his unchanging expression – it was still impassive, except his brows were furrowed.

"You're a Jounin ranked ninja." He said, his voice normal, as if he wasn't affected by what is happening. "Act professional."

She clenched her fists and gave a frustrated cry before pulling her hand back and directing a punch to his face. He just moved to the side and grabbed her wrist, afterwards, held the other one as she struggled and trashed about.

"Let go of me!" she yelled. "Damn it let go!"

He didn't, and just continued holding her down.

Her "tantrum" lasted for about a few minutes before she finally calmed down.

She didn't know when they had actually decided to sit on the pavement, an arm's length away from each other, since her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with Tsunami, and recalled how Sasuke remained apathetic the whole time.

Sometimes, she wished she could read minds, especially Sasuke's thoughts, because she can't tell what he's thinking, but she at least felt a bit of satisfaction when she saw his eyes narrowed down to slits, glaring at the sidewalk across the street.

She knew that somehow, he was affected by her indirect confession.

Seconds, minutes, _hours_.

He wasn't sure how long they have been sitting there doing nothing. He didn't wear a watch, and neither did she.

For a shinobi, watches weren't necessary – especially if they can tell the time just by looking at the sky.

However, Sasuke isn't sure with Wave's timeline. It was different from Oto and Konoha, so he didn't know if it was nearing midnight, or just about two hours before.

Right now, he wished he at least wore a watch on his left, instead of copying the black wrist band on his right.

"Sakura."

The girl next to him stiffened from his voice, and he figured she was probably waiting for an answer from her sudden confession.

"It's getting late."

She nodded once to indicate that she heard him.

"We should get going." He stood and offered her a hand, but she just ignored it and got up on her own. He sighed softly, knowing that he can't blame her for acting that way.

With her back facing him, he pocketed his hands and began walking, taking note of how Sakura trudged behind, refusing to keep in step with him, and that simple act just...

"Ch."

…annoyed him.

* * *

"The brat's here?"

"Yes sir, we've confirmed it, and we're sure that he wants us to know it was he who killed Yohei."

A smirk grazed the man's lips. "Interesting…" he chuckled. "Why don't we give him a warm welcome then?" he stood. "And I trust that he is not alone, correct?"

"Uchiha Sasuke is a highly respected ANBU, and for that reason, we have yet to confirm if he's with someone, and who he or she is."

He frowned. That didn't suit him well. He wanted to know if Sasuke was doing another solo mission, or perhaps he's with an accomplice.

"We will continue to monitor his every movement, sir."

The man immediately threw a table his way, almost hitting the reporter's head.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke we're talking about, Hito." He grabbed his shirt's collared and lifted him up. "He is an exceptional ANBU who can outwit any of you, can outrun all of you, and can definitely take each and every one of you out if he wants to." He snarled. "The reason your men are still alive and kicking is because he has something in mind, and I want to know what goes on in that _fucking_ head of his." He dropped Hito to the floor unceremoniously. "His mind is like that of a Cryptogram code – you will get frustrated if you don't crack it."

"Sir," Hito apologized. "We will try to put a dent on his reputation."

The man snorted. "Be content if you even put a scratch," he snickered. "My personal subordinates will be the one to put a dent, and I'll be responsible for the crack." He whipped out a kunai and tossed it to his right, the pointed end hitting the head of a picture that was pinned on a cork board filled with other snapshots of men and women ninjas – most of which were already marked dead.

He smirked as his gaze landed on the dark-colored eyes of a young ANBU's picture that he targeted.

"Uchiha Sasuke will be begging for his life soon."

* * *

She nearly bumped into him when he suddenly stopped, and she raised her head to give him a questioning look, but seeing as his gaze was focused ahead, she turned to where he was looking at and frowned.

There were about two dozens of men that were armed with various weapons, and they all had their eyes directed on them.

"Kokuzoku's men." Sasuke answered Sakura's unasked question. "They're just thugs with a lot of chakra – but they can't use them."

"So they're like lose cannons?"

"Aa."

She smirked and pulled on her gloves. "This is going to be interesting."

"Get them!" one of the men said, and they all charged.

"I get one half you get the other?"

He smirked at her enthusiasm to fight and nodded before they split up and dealt with their own share of opponents.

Sakura had punched the ground beneath her, creating a large crack and causing a few debris to fly and hit the men who couldn't even evade them. She then jumped into the air and flipped so that she fell back head first, a fist pulled back and ready to be released.

A man's face had unfortunately met the strength of Sakura's punch, and a satisfying crack made its way to her ears as she grinned, happy to have broken a nose and few bones to boot.

She quickly used the man's body as leverage to spring back into the air to avoid a swing of a crowbar, and she used the assaulter's shoulder to flip herself back, afterwards, landed on the ground while bringing him with her, and then delivered a hit to his stomach with the use of her elbow. She looked up as three more came for her, and she easily dodged their attacks and kneed one of them on the groin. She tossed the weakened man towards the other two before cracking her knuckles and glaring at the remaining ones.

"_Five down."_ She gave a grin. "Are you boys going to entertain me or not?"

The remaining seven had exchanged looks and gave her sinister grins.

"Don't worry little girl, once we're through with you, you'll be begging for release."

He frowned at the nickname and the innuendo. "Sorry, I don't swing that way with guys like you." Her fisted hands began to glow green – showing off the color of her chakra before she charged at them and swung her fists at a fast pace, giving one blow after another to each and every one of her enemies, smirking when she heard their painful cries from earning broken bones and perhaps acquiring internal bleeding at that.

Despite her deadly blows, she made sure that her attacks wouldn't kill them.

But the other half weren't as lucky as they were.

Sasuke is an ANBU from Oto, he showed no mercy in dealing with his own set of men, and he definitely felt nothing when his chidori encased arm had punched through a man's chest.

His sharingan wielding eyes had a calm look on them as they were directed at the remaining five people who were slowly backing away.

"I only need one of you alive." He said before tossing aside the recently killed man. He lifted his left hand which was still covered in blue chakra – lightning crackling due to his ninjutsu, his skin tone looking paler than normal due to the bright lightning attack, the dark red blood only contrasting it to balance out the colors.

"So who's it going to be?" he approached them, his steps soundless against the cemented ground. "You, or you…" he glanced at all of them, judging who knew more than the other. "Maybe…" in a few seconds, the other four lay motionless on the floor, mouths open in a silent gasp, while eyes were wide with shock at the speed he possessed.

The last one standing had frozen in place.

"_It isn't possible for a ninja to actually kill four in just a blink of an eye! Just who is this guy we confronted?"_

"You." Sasuke said, standing dangerously close behind the man. In less than a second, a kunai was also pointed near his throat while his arms were held back by the ANBU's other hand. "Tell me what you know."

"I-I don't know anything!"

"That's bullshit," Sasuke pressed the kunai's tip on the man's neck. "And you know it."

"I-I swear! I don't-"

"Have you ever heard of what the Sharingan can do?" he hissed. "Of what a member of the Uchiha clan is capable of with these eyes?"

The man had began to sweat badly, and Sasuke knew he was getting to him.

"One look from these eyes can throw you into a torturous illusion that may last three days for you, but only seconds in reality." He said. "One look can make you see horrible visions, make you think an illusion is real, make you lose your mind…" he trailed off, feeling how shaky the man has grown. "These eyes can predict the next movements of an opponent, can copy any attack other ninjas have, can see a person's chakra, can tell if a person is _lying_." He sneered. "So if you know what's good for you, then you should start talking."

"I… I… don't…"

"Let me make this easy for you," he tightened his grip on the man's arms and pricked his neck with the kunai, drawing out bits of blood. "I'm an ANBU from Oto, I _aced_ Psychological torture in a span of three days. I've been captured before, but I've made each and every one of my interrogators give up with these eyes," he smirked. "In other words, I turned their own methods against them."

"D-Doto K-Kazuhana…" he began to speak. "H-He's the leader of the K-Kokuzoku… a-and G-Gato! Gato plans to lead a few men in dealing with the fisherman Kaiza f-for standing up to them! For starting a rebellion! F-For… for opposing the Kokuzoku!"

"What else?"

"T-They told us to attack you in order for our spies to learn of your techniques! Of who you're with! Of who we're dealing with!"

"How long has Kokuzoku been running Wave?"

"T-Three and a half years!"

"Hn." He loosened his grip. "You just made your death quick and painless."

"W-Wha-" he didn't get a chance to finish when Sasuke had punched a hole through the man's chest from behind, the chidori fading just as soon as Sasuke's left hand had a grip on the heart.

He let the man drop to the floor, afterwards, looked at Sakura who had witnessed the whole thing before meeting his eyes.

"Are you still capable of liking an ANBU like me?"

* * *

The report a scout had just given made his lips curve upwards to form a grin.

"This ANBU…" he began to laugh, the men who didn't know him well had looked at each other questioningly, wondering why their boss was so happy than an Sasuke had easily wiped off twelve of their best men in an instant. "This _fucking _ninja!" he slammed a fist down at the table before him as he stood, his glare threatening as his men fell silent. Soon, he broke into a maniacal laugh. "He is just too amusing!" he chuckled some more, giving his men the creeps. "His methods of killing are an art," he wiped sweat from his brow. "His way of torturing and interrogating…" he gave a smirk. "They're rare…"

"Sir…"

"I want that guy here," he ordered. "If he refuses to cooperate, use that girl to make him bend over." He chuckled. "You have a picture of her, yes?"

"Yes sir." He handed him recently developed photographs. "Her name is Haruno Sakura, one of Konoha's top Jounin."

He eyed the picture, eyed her form, her style of fighting. He saw her devotion as a ninja, saw those green eyes looking like they were enjoying the fight.

"Quite a catch." He murmured, but what caught his eyes was the forehead protector around her neck, there was something black on her skin, and the headband seemed to be concealing it. "Her name… it sounds familiar." He furrowed his brows in deep thinking. "Look it up."

"Yes sir."

* * *

Where the hell did these guys come from?

After dealing with twenty-four men earlier, and an additional twenty more after, they now needed to deal with fifteen.

"Are they tiring us out?"

"Hn. Most likely." He said, glancing at her. "Are you tired?"

"No." she snapped, back to her original self.

"Good, let's get this over and done with, I'm kind of sleepy." He sighed and stretched his arms. "Hn, seven-seven, last one to get the last guy buys breakfast tomorrow."

She frowned. "Wait a minute, you still owe me that!"

"Then why don't you claim the win?" he smirked and began to charge. "If you can!"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "You're on!"

It didn't take long for them to be finally down to the last guy standing, and he was sweating pretty badly as two pairs of intent glares were at him.

"Ready Uchiha?"

"Hn."

Before they could attack, someone had came charging from above, and Sasuke had to push Sakura out of the way to escape the range of the attack.

"_Lightning based."_ He thought with a frown as the smoke cleared to reveal bluegreen hair. "Ch. Aoi."

Aoi smirked. "Long time no see, Uchiha."

He felt another chakra signature heading towards the guy they were supposed to finish off, but it didn't make him turn to see who it was, rather, it made him freeze in place.

"_No way."_

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw Aoi charging at them, and as soon as she ran to the side, her eyes widened to see Sasuke standing still, looking hocked.

"Sasuke!"

Her voice snapped him back to reality, and he quickly made a couple of hand signs to block Aoi's attack with his chidori, the impact of both skills forcing the users apart.

Sasuke shook his head and turned from Aoi to the newcomer, his eyes not believing what they saw when a woman had aided a few of the men he and Sakura had taken down.

"_No… way…"_

Sakura followed his eyes and bit her lower lip, afterwards, lowered her head, as if debating in her mind what to do, before looking up and running towards Sasuke.

She grabbed him by his shirt's collar, just in time since Aoi had directed another attack to where Sasuke used to be.

"Hmph. So close." Aoi muttered, but snickered none the less. "I guess we can confirm it then." He glanced at the woman who was looking at where Sakura and Sasuke took off to. "It's _that_ obvious after all."

* * *

She tossed him on the bed, his back hitting the mattress unceremoniously before she grabbed his shirt's collar and pulled him up.

"Why did you suddenly freeze like that? You could've died!"

He didn't answer but just remained perfectly still.

"Sasuke..?"

"…I saw _her._" He suddenly said.

Her grip loosened slightly, until she let him fall back onto the bed. She knelt to the floor and kept her head lowered.

"…Five years ago…" he began. "She left without saying anything, and now…" his fists clenched. "Now I know why." His eyes shifted to red. "She fucking joined the Kokuzoku."

"Sasuke…"

"I can't believe my mother did that!"

And Sakura didn't know what to do when he punched the wall nearby, making a crack, but that also made his knuckles bleed – the wall wasn't smooth after all, but rather, rough and jagged.

Sakura's gaze softened, and she stood up and held his right hand that was bleeding, afterwards, brought it up to her lips to place a small kiss on it. "Don't do that…" she said before placing a hand over his wounds and healed it. "Don't hurt yourself…"

She didn't know what to do when he held her hand and pulled her to him, his bangs shadowed his eyes, and his lips were merely centimeters away from hers.

He was currently having an emotional breakdown, and he probably thought that she could help, and she knew what he was planning.

"If you want to," she said in a soft voice, and then lowering her gaze. "You can." She closed her eyes when he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, afterwards, had her lie on the bed with him hovering over her.

"_Because even if I know it's wrong,"_ she thought when he moved to her neck. _"I can't deny the fact that I want this too…"_ she closed her eyes and had her arms wrap around him. _"This is one thing that can be dismissed as an illusion, but is also considered reality."_

He intertwined his fingers with hers when their breathing became a bit ragged.

"_Sasuke…"_ she thought as she let herself get lost in bliss. _"If love is an illusion to us, to ninjas,"_ she found it hard to concentrate on anything else when his body was pressed up against hers. _"Then why does this feel so real? Why do I feel this way towards you?"_

If she could read minds, she probably would have know that he was asking himself the same thing.

_**To be continued…

* * *

**_

_Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 8: Sakura's Secret_

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes Uchiha, I'm _fucking_ **dead** serious."

He looked at Kakashi, and then back at Sakura's unconscious form in his arms.

"If I was lying," the silver-haired Jounin spoke. "She would still be on a rampage."

* * *

_A/N: There, I made the chapter longer. Haha Sorry for the very, very long wait!_


	8. Sakura's Secret

_A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! :D_

* * *

**Genjutsu**

"_Why..?"_

Fingers clenched the blanket tightly as she held it closer to her body. Her eyes were halfway closed and a bit glossy while gazing at the back of her partner.

"_I told you it was fine, but…"_

Her eyelids blocked her vision as she curled herself up into a ball.

"_Sasuke…"_ she bit her lower lip before burying her face deeper onto the pillow. _"Stop keeping things to yourself, stop refusing help…"_

He never got too far, in fact, he just stopped all of a sudden.

"_Please… I want to help you, in any way that I can…"_

He was hunched over, white polo discarded, leaving his black shirt and pants on. His wrist bands were long gone, revealing what he hid on his wrists.

There was a seal on each of them, and she wondered what they were for, and if it had a story like the one she had on her neck.

"Sasuke."

Come to think of it, he only stopped when he pulled off her forehead protector, stopped after he had kissed her neck.

"Sasuke." She said, a little louder.

He lifted his head slightly at the sound of her voice calling his name.

"Sometimes, I question your gender." She mumbled out.

A snort came from him, and she found herself smiling slightly when she heard him laugh a bit.

* * *

_**Chapter 8: Sakura's Secret**_

Now that she thought about it, he was right in stopping himself from going further.

It would have been awkward if they woke up the next day completely naked and aware of what had happened, of how they let their emotions get the best of them.

"_But..."_ she twitched as she glared at her partner who sat next to her in the ramen stand. _"That was a great opportunity, damn it."_

"You're acting like a kid again."

"Oh shut up!" She snarled. "How can you be a normal boy?"

"I'm surprised you know the definition of normal."

"I mean, what kind of a guy would actually refuse an opportunity to have sex with a girl?"

Sasuke quirked a brow at Sakura, while the older man who was running the ramen stand had gawked at her with a very red face.

"A decent guy." Sasuke answered. "And…" he turned back to his ramen. "Who would actually go for a girl with a small bust size and short height?"

Sakura gaped, and soon, she felt everything around her explode.

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU CHICKEN ASS HAIRED BASTARD!"

"…How original." He raised his left arm when he heard his falcon screech.

"OH YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!"

"Then what would you call yourself if I'm annoying?" He removed the small piece of paper attached on the falcon's right leg.

"Why you- GAH!"

"Hn." He read the contents and furrowed his brows slightly.

"You're impossible."

"Hn." He smirked after reading the note Tazuna had replied to him. The falcon just really loved pecking the old man at times.

"You're just such a jerk!"

"Hn." The bird disappeared later after Sasuke had given it a treat.

"Asshole."

"Hn."

She huffed and wolfed down her ramen, afterwards, looked up at the man who was staring at her.

"One more." She said, and grinned in satisfaction when Sasuke flinched upon realizing that he was going to pay for their meal.

* * *

"So he really is related to her."

"Affirmative."

"And did you kill him yet?"

"He's not alone."

"Ah, right, Haruno Sakura." He mumbled. "Any information on her?"

"Just that her father is dead and her mother is in a coma in the hospital of Konoha." He read the file he held in his hand. "Haruno Sakura is the only ninja of her family, no known relative who is alive."

"…Haruno." He mumbled, before snapping his fingers. "Of course! How could I forget?" He chuckled. "It should have been obvious, given who her current partner is."

"Sir, I don't get it."

"Don't you know about that girl, Aoi?" He smirked. "She's not just any Jounin."

"She's… been under Tsunade's tutelage?"

"Aside from that." He grumbled. "She has _it_."

Aoi's eyes widened. "You can't be serious. How can that girl…"

"Because she's a Haruno, she and her mother being the last ones that carry the bloodline - if that file is reliable." He smirked. "And Uchiha is the only one who can stop her from losing control."

"...Because he's an Uchiha."

"Yes." He bit his thumb. "But we can't let that happen – we can't let that brat interfere."

* * *

The weather was cloudy, but it didn't rain.

Sakura found it calming, actually, and she even went as far as comparing the weather to her partner who sat next to her on the bench, staring up ahead.

They haven't done much today that was related to their mission, and being at the park surrounded by couples made it feel like they're on a date – even if it wasn't, or so he says.

Still, it's a lot better than feeling awkward around each other after her sudden confession last night.

"I still don't get how we can save Wave from the Kokuzoku." Sakura mumbled. "Is that even supposed to really be a mission just for us?"

Sasuke shook his head. "We're not here to deal with the Kokuzoku, my brother and his teammates are already handling the other members."

"...Does he... know about your mother?"

She was wary about asking him, so when she saw him clench his fists, she decided to ask another question.

"Why the heck did the Hokage send us here if your brother is already dealing with the Kokuzoku?"

He was thankful for the change of topic, and he let himself calm down. "He'll be busy with the Kokuzoku, so while he's striking, we'll need to head for the boss himself."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

She sighed and absently ran her fingers through her hair. "And how do you propose we do that?"

He just smirked.

* * *

"_Okay, not exactly what I had in mind but… what the heck!"_ She tried to remain calm as the two men who stood on-guard eyed her warily.

"Is there a problem?" Her partner asked with a raised brow, a cloth wrapped around his head like some sort of bandana, the knot ending at the nape of his neck where the rest of the cloth hung, hiding the spiky locks that would have given his identity away yet his bangs still drooped over his eyes. He used a basic jutsu to change his eyes to a shade of green just in case the enemy will still recognize him.

This, however, made Sakura fantasize how their son will look like if he inherited Sasuke's hair color and her eye color.

"I doubt this little shrimp is a guy." One of the two guards snorted, pointing at her. "He's a bit too short, and his body is too feminine-like."

Sakura didn't know whether to feel flattered that her physique was praised, or to be insulted that her disguise didn't work.

"_I even wore a wig!"_ She thought, flicking some of the dark brown strands that fell over her hazel colored eyes. "I inherited my mother's height." She said in a low voice in order to sound like a boy.

Sasuke inwardly smirked, relieved that she remembered to change her voice like he told her to.

"Trust me, this guy won't grow any taller." He said, his voice sounding much older than his real age.

"I still don't think he's a guy." The second guard pointed out. "We're going to need solid proof."

Sasuke quirked a brow. Now how could they mistake Sakura as a girl? She was freaking flat!

"Fine then."

He looked at Sakura, surprised when she had grabbed his wrist and had his palm press against her chest.

"There, see? If I was a girl, do you think I'd do this?" She said in a calm and low voice. "If you still don't believe me," she grabbed at Sasuke's other hand, the ANBU knowing where _exactly_ she was planning to place it. "Then-"

"Alright already!" He pulled his hands free from her grasp, trying to fight the blush that threatened to stain his cheeks. "You didn't have to go that far!"

"Why are you reacting that way if he's really a boy?"

Sakura inwardly smacked her forehead. _"Way to go Sasuke, I risked having my chest groped by you and this happens…"_

"He's gay." Sasuke mumbled. "He's been trying to get to me."

She didn't stop her jaw from dropping at what he said.

"I already told you a thousand times that I am perfectly straight and only have interest in women who have a figure of eight."

She just continued gaping at him when he said that in a straight face.

"Uh… so… he's… gay." One of the guards stuttered; he and his ally exchanging nervous glances. "A-Alright, go on in. J-Just d-don't… yeah."

Sakura twitched. "What? Are you homophobic too?"

"JUST GO!" The two exclaimed, stepping aside to let the two 'men' who carried a couple of packages in. "The boss' room is located at the end of the hallway to your left."

"Thanks."

As soon as the door closed behind them, Sakura dropped the empty wooden boxes and glared at Sasuke who also lowered the items.

"Gay?"

"Hn. Even if I said I was a decent guy, I'm still a guy who has knowledge of the female anatomy."

"…"

"Next time you plan on proving others that you're a guy, just say you're gay." He twitched and lifted his right hand, wondering if he'll ever forget what it had touched. _"Hn. It was soft, though."_

"P-shaw." She scoffed. "You sure looked disappointed a while ago."

He walked on ahead of her. "Any guy would be if they groped a girl's breast that was non-existent."

One of the empty boxes she was carrying earlier met the back of Sasuke's head, but he only turned into a log and reappeared a few steps ahead.

"That won't work on me."

"I can hope."

"Well, it's hopeless."

She just growled.

* * *

"Let them be."

"But sir-"

"I'd like to see it up-close; I want to know if the legend is true, if their fates are indeed bound together as before."

"Very well."

"In the mean time, Aoi, lead Gato and get that blasted Kaiza."

His subordinate nodded, and then disappeared behind the shadows.

Doto Kazuhana merely smirked and approached the large cork board of the room where various photographs and maps were pinned. He stopped before one snapshot of a young ninja and removed the kunai that was embed on it.

"You probably have no idea yet, Uchiha, but it doesn't matter." He dragged the knife down from the upper left corner all the way to the lower right, repeating it on the other side to make an "X" mark. "I will make sure you're dead when it has been confirmed."

He turned his head to the only door that led to the room, seeing a woman who looked a lot like the ANBU he wanted dead.

"I didn't know you were related to the Uchihas – specifically the brats."

She bowed down for a moment before meeting the man's eyes. "I have long ago cut off my ties from that clan."

"Tell me then, are you of pure blood?"

"Yes."

"I see... then you must have been a distant relative of your deceased husband?"

"Yes."

"So those two also carry within them pure Uchiha blood."

"Yes."

"And what do you know of Haruno Sakura?"

"She too is of pure blood."

"Then that would make her parents related as well."

"Yes – though they are very distant cousins."

"Is she and her mother the last ones?"

"The last pure ones, yes."

"...And what of your _former_ clan?"

She merely shook her head. "Only Sasuke carries the blood potential to be marked."

"Marked – then those tattoos on his wrists aren't..."

"They are seals." She explained. "When he had reached the level of ANBU, he had no idea that everything was planned since the birth of Haruno Sakura and his."

"Why not Itachi then?"

"Itachi lacked the potential to bear the seals."

"Orochimaru... he tried it on Itachi, did he not?"

"Yes, but the ritual wasn't completed – for Itachi did not handle it well."

"Yet Sasuke managed?"

"It was a close call – but even the elders of the clan had sensed something in him that was close to that of Uchiha Madara's."

"The founder – I heard he still lives."

"Merely descendants – some think that Sasuke is a reincarnation."

"What else?"

"Itachi had witnessed the awakening of Sasuke's sharingan – Sasuke was only seven years old at that time, a year younger than when Itachi had awakened his."

"Which made those two the candidates for protecting the Haruno heiress."

"Yes. Itachi may have been the obvious choice, but he tried to convince us that Sasuke would be a better guard. However, after much persuasion from Fugaku and the elders, he let Orochimaru perform the jutsu on him."

"Yet it failed to complete, which meant that he was not the right one."

She nodded.

"How come no one protected Haruno Sakura's parents?"

"There were assigned Uchihas but the Harunos had been lying low for a while, if the girl hadn't decided to become a ninja, it would have been harder to locate her."

"Why doesn't Sasuke know, or does he?"

"He doesn't." She said. "Sasuke has no idea that his partner is the girl he has to protect with his life, yet Sarutobi and Orochimaru knows, and so do the rest of the teachers in Oto and Konoha." She explained. "Sakura wasn't located until recently, and there wasn't enough time to explain everything to Sasuke. All he knows is that those seals on his wrist are important, and he'll just _know_ if it's time to use them."

"If that's the case, let us go and meet them then." He gave a smirk and led the way out the door, pressing a finger against the communicator attached to his ear in order to inform the rest of his men what to do. "Prepare one of our built-in warehouses."

* * *

Her hand instantly went to her neck, making Sasuke stop to look over at her.

"You alright?"

"Y-yeah." She murmurs, her fingers tracing the metal part of her forehead protector around her neck.

"...That seal..."

"Huh?"

Sasuke eyed the headband that hid the tattoo on her neck. "Where... what is it for?"

"...I'm... I don't really know."

"...Hn."

"Have you seen it before?"

He shook his head and turned his back to her before proceeding to walk. "Something about it just... it's nothing."

Sakura tilted her head to side a bit before deciding to just drop it and follow him.

"Do you know where we're going?"

"I'm trying to trace the faint chakra I picked up when we got here."

"...What if it's a trap?"

"We'll find out sooner or later."

"Do you have a back-up plan?"

"...I'm trying to come up with one."

"That's reassuring."

"Shut up."

Silence engulfed them after that, with only their light footsteps making a sound. By the time they reached the end of the hallway, they looked towards their right and then their left.

"So... which one?"

"Those guys said left, right?"

Sakura nodded and started walking towards the left hall. "Any ideas yet?"

"No, I'm still drawing a blank."

"We should have planned thoroughly first."

"Well why don't you help me out instead of asking?"

"You're more experienced than I am."

"You could at least try."

"Your comebacks are getting lamer – are you sick?" She looked at him. "Sasuke?"

He was eyeing her in a peculiar way, and she wondered if it was because of what she said.

"You're kind of... freaking me out here Uchiha."

His eyes narrowed slightly before lowering to her neck, recalling what the seal had looked like. It was almost identical to the ones on his wrists – which followed the pattern of the sharingan, only it had additional curves which branched outward of the circle that kept the commas contained within it.

"Show me that seal."

"What?"

He walked over to her and pulled off the forehead protector, making Sakura yelp as he tugged at the collar of her dress shirt.

"What the hell, Sasuke?"

His eyes narrowed further when he felt his pulse quicken at the sight of the cursive marks on the lower left of her neck near the collarbone.

"We have to get out of here."

"What?" She gaped.

He took a hold of her hand and made a mad dash back to where they came from.

"Sasuke, seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?"

He didn't reply and only quickened his pace when he had sensed a large amount of chakra headed for them.

"Sasuke!"

"Just shut up!"

She closed her mouth at his outburst, noting how his eyes had glared up ahead, and she followed his line of vision to see a couple of men blocking their path.

"Er... Sasuke..."

He just pulled off several kunai with his other hand and threw them towards the men, afterwards, let her hand go and did a few hand seals to perform a fire jutsu.

The attack had caused the two men to step back, and he used this to his advantage as he kicked one and kneed the other once the fire had died down. When the two men were out cold, he held Sakura's wrist again and began running once more.

By the time they were nearing their exit, a few men charged at him and he had to step back to avoid getting a cut. He held one arm out in front of Sakura while keeping his glare at the men.

"Sasuke, I can-"

"Don't fight."

"What?"

"Don't fight." He repeated, slower and much louder. "I mean it."

"Why?"

"Just don't." He pleaded, meeting her gaze. "I don't know what it is, but just... just listen to me."

She held his eyes for a few moments before nodding once and looking back at the men standing in their way.

"How do we get out of here?"

"You can't."

The two turned behind them, seeing Doto approaching them with Sasuke's mother following behind him wordlessly.

Sasuke's eyes instantly narrow at this.

"You've grown, Sasuke." She greeted when her eyes took in the form of her youngest son. "Both in strength and physical appearances."

"Why did you..." he trailed off, choosing to not ask for fear that his emotions might betray him, and at this point, he can't lose his cool.

"So you now know," Doto says as he shifts his gaze from Sasuke to Sakura. "It would explain why you would suddenly want to leave."

He glared. "What are you talking about?"

"...Well, maybe not everything." Doto chuckled. "It's best you just come quietly, Uchiha."

Sasuke glanced at the men on the other side, and then back at Doto and his mother. He could take them on right now, but he had no information about Doto Kazuhana, nor does he know what his mother may do. Besides that, something told him that Sakura can't use her chakra right now, so he lowered the arm that prevented Sakura from moving and nodded once to Doto.

"Sasuke, what-"

He gave her a quick look, and she just went with it.

Doto Kazuhana then led the way to one of the many warehouses that the group owned.

"Seal the doors." He ordered the men, who complied and locked the only way to get in and out of the large place.

Sasuke watched as the rest surrounded them in a circle, with him and Sakura in the middle.

"Have you ever heard of your partner's family history?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura who furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Ah, sorry, I was asking you, Uchiha." Doto paused. "Though it can also work for her."

"Just get to the point." Sasuke snarled.

"In that case..." He smirked. "Your clan and hers have... what you would call a master and servant relationship." He started to pace around. "You see, the Uchiha clan are a long line of ninjas, correct? And for years, have kept the blood pure, which is why marriage within the clan was the top priority, and the same goes for the Haruno lineage – except..." he stopped and looked at Sakura. "Her line is of the nobles."

"What?" The two exclaimed.

"Those seals..." He murmured. "The ones on your wrists – your teacher never did say what they were for exactly." He looked at Sakura. "And the one on your neck – you thought it was a birthmark, yet why were you told to hide it?"

"...I... I was..."

"They said it was considered a taboo, or an omen." Doto continued. "That's what you were raised to believe, your family went into hiding because they did not want anymore of the Uchihas to die protecting their kin, however, the Uchihas themselves were persistent – they still tried their hardest to locate the members of the Haruno clan."

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged looks, asking the other if they knew of this.

"It's been years since an Uchiha was assigned to protect a Haruno, so it isn't a surprise that neither of you know of it."

"...You knew though." Sasuke stated, looking at Mikoto. "You and the rest knew."

"Of course she knew." Doto said. "Only the two of you and your colleagues had no idea."

"Why tell us now?" Sakura asked, clenching her fists. "Then my father... mother..."

"They would have lived if they didn't feel guilty of their own guards' possible deaths."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "My father was one of them."

"You catch on quite fast." Doto snickered. "Uchiha Fugaku was responsible for the safety of Haruno Ikichi, however, Ikichi did not want anymore ties with the Uchiha clan – he wanted to end the master-slave relationship, he wanted to free the Uchihas from the ties they're bound to."

"That led to my family... moving far away from the rest of my kin..." Sakura whispered. "We were originally from Oto?"

"That's right, dear princess." Doto chuckled. "Don't be surprised of the title, you are a pure-blooded Haruno, the last heiress at that."

"Last..?"

"Of course. Your father's decision to free the Uchihas led to many deaths of your kin. Sasuke's clan did not want the freedom, but they were ordered by their respective masters, and an order from a Haruno is absolute."

Sakura almost snorted. "Doesn't seem so with Sasuke and I."

"Only because the contract has yet to be done." Doto took a step towards Sakura, and Sasuke, whether by instinct or because of the new found information, blocked his path. "It's inevitable Uchiha."

Sasuke quickly turned around when he heard Sakura yelp, and Doto took advantage of this by taking him in a tight headlock.

"Fucking-" his eyes narrowed and shifted to red as he concentrated his chakra in his body and released a good amount of electricity, forcing Doto to let him go. He quickly charged at the two men who had held Sakura down, freeing her when he sent out senbon needles made out of his chidori.

He positioned Sakura behind him, eyes wary of any movement from his opponents.

"Sasuke, I have to fight."

"No." He told her. "You can't let that seal activate."

"I've been fighting my whole life and not once did it-"

"It's set to go off – don't ask how I know, I just do."

"But-"

"Just trust me."

"Heh..." Doto recovered from the numbness he suffered from earlier and looked at the couple. "You may not have been aware of it, yet you recognize her as your master."

"What do you want from her?" Sasuke glared, his sharingan still in place.

"Her power is unique – as expected from a pure Haruno."

"...You mean _untouched_." He hissed. "Otherwise, you would have gotten her mother."

Doto smirked. "You tried to _touch_ her, didn't you?"

Sakura flushed but Sasuke kept his face impassive.

"Something pulled you back after you made contact with her seal – that had made you aware of her, no matter how faint the recognition." He chuckled. "It's illegal for an Uchiha and a Haruno to be together after all."

Sakura's eyes widened at that and she looked towards Sasuke who still looked unaffected.

"You wanted to, but couldn't." Doto continued. "You kept telling yourself that it's because of your training as a shinobi, but deep down, you knew you just can't, but you would have if you could."

His fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"Admit it Sasuke, admit your feelings."

Sakura didn't know how to react to that – she didn't know how to take it either. Did that mean that Sasuke also returned the same feelings she has for him, or did it mean something else?

"You don't know anything." Sasuke seethed. "And you won't have Sakura."

"Then I guess we'll have to kill you first."

"If you can." Sasuke taunted, his left arm produced blue chakra that crackled like lightning, and Sakura almost thought she heard a thousand birds. "Even if the contract hasn't been done, I'll still protect her."

She didn't want this – she didn't want the feeling of standing by and not doing anything. She disliked the idea of someone else fighting for her sake. She became a ninja to avoid those feelings, so why now..? Why did it happen now?

One by one, the men fell either numbed or dead, and she could see and witness everything as she stood there, watching how her partner – now guard – attacked the thugs and prevented them from getting nearer. There were a lot of them, nothing he can't handle but there were still so many of them that she wouldn't be surprised if this was what Doto Kazuhana had planned.

"Why aren't you fighting?"

She almost thought it was she who was asked, but rather, it was her who had voiced out the question while keeping her gaze on Doto.

His smirk only made her eyes widen, and she turned to see Sasuke done with majority of the men, and while he still had more in him, she could see that he was already breathing hard – they were slow pants, but heavy none the less.

"_Doto Kazuhana planned this."_ She thought, taking a step back to lean against Sasuke's stance. "Sasuke, we need a plan."

"I know." He told her in a lower and softer voice so that only she could hear. "But right now, I can't come up with anything – not when there's not a single window in sight."

"So our only way out is that large door."

"That's sealed."

"We'll have to break through it."

"But to do so, we'll need these guys out of the way."

"Let me fight – I can fight without using my chakra."

He hesitated, but the way his teeth clenched made her know that he knew it would be better if she helped him out.

"No chakra." He told her firmly.

"Okay." She nodded and took out some kunai and shuriken. "No chakra."

"Get rid of the guys..."

She nodded. "And head for the door."

He gave her one more look before leaving her in the middle to engage in close combat with the rest, using less than half of what his jutsu are worth in order to save his own chakra for later emergencies.

Sakura made sure all her weapons had hit a vital spot in order to not waste them, all the while dodging a few punches and kicks directed at her while using plain taijutsu. She kept reminding herself not to use chakra even though it would have made things easier – and a few minutes later, she found her back pressed up against Sasuke's.

"Not working out as I had hoped." She breathed, growing tired from the endless amount of men who had come at them. "How's that back-up plan coming along?"

"Not too good." He admitted, also breathing heavily. "I only have a few chakra left in me to create a strong jutsu that may get us out."

"But..?"

"We have to move fast, and also time everything properly."

"Okay genius, what do you propose?"

"Chidori burst – ever heard of it?"

"...No."

"That's because I only came up with it now." He formed a hand seal. "Once I activate it, the electric current will numb these guys and buy us some time to escape."

"And the doors..?"

"Explosive tag – you have one?"

"Yeah."

"Throw it as soon as I bend over to activate the chidori burst."

"Got it." She wrapped the tag on a Kunai as he created a few hand seals, the chidori coming to life as the rest of the men had stepped back to avoid the current.

"Now." and when he slammed the blue ball of electricity on the ground to send it flowing through the area, Sakura threw the kunai and it landed at the middle of the door.

"Explosive tag!" One man yelled, and when the doors gave way, Sasuke grabbed Sakura's wrist and made a run for it.

"Mikoto!" Doto yelled when he struggled to get back on his feet after Sasuke's jutsu.

As soon as Sasuke and Sakura stepped onto a few men's back to leap into the air and get out, strings shot out and wrapped around their ankles, and they felt a strong tug – forcing them back and landing on the ground.

"Hold them down!" Doto ordered as a couple of men forced the two shinobi's arms on their backs and pressed their heads to the floor. "That was close..." he mumbled as he stepped up to the two. "Clever of you, Uchiha."

Sasuke glared at him and then at his mother who remained impassive.

"Now that you're held down and out of chakra, you're no longer a threat." He looked towards Sakura, nodding his head at the man who got off of her and pulled her up, still holding her arms back.

Doto Kazuhana grabbed her chin and lifted her head up to get a good look at her face.

"You can use your chakra to break free, princess." He sneered. "So use that super strength of yours that I've heard so much about."

"Don't do it!"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke who tried to break free from his restraints before meeting the older man's eyes.

"What are the chances of that seal activating right now if it didn't before?"

"...Sasuke said that it was set to go off, so I'll take his word for it and not give you the satisfaction."

"How does he know then?"

"He's Sasuke." Sakura simply stated. "He just knows."

He scoffed and let her chin go. "Such trust." He proceeded to Sasuke, nodding at the one who held him down. The man got up and made the ANBU stand on his feet yet still restrained his arms. Doto soon held a kunai to his neck and met Sakura's eyes.

"Still won't do it, princess?"

"Don't." Sasuke told her, eyes narrowed and reverted back to black. "No matter what happens, don't."

She felt a drop of sweat trickle from her forehead, all the way down to her cheek and chin until it dropped to the floor.

"Are you sure, Haruno Sakura?" He pressed the kunai deeper onto Sasuke's skin, drawing out blood.

"If he kills me, he has nothing else to provoke you with." Sasuke said.

"Don't talk like that!" Sakura told him. "Damn it don't..." she shook her head. "...Sasuke, I'm sorry."

"Sakura, don't." He said again. "You'll kill a lot more lives if you do."

She bit her lower lip.

"I can kill your mother afterwards."

"He can't." Sasuke spoke, ignoring how Doto pressed the kunai depper. "Your mother is in Konoha, no place is safer."

"What will happen if I... unleash this power?" Sakura asked, looking down.

"Nothing, really." Doto answered, pressing the kunai depper onto Sasuke's throat to prevent him from speaking. "The worst that could happen is you being out of control, but that's why Sasuke's here – he can stop you."

"Then... you can't kill him."

Doto glared.

"If you kill him, I can't be stopped. And if you kill him, I'll make sure I won't use this power."

Doto sneered. "I don't care much if you can't be stopped, however, you did say you won't use it when I kill Sasuke." He lowered the kunai. "But perhaps torturing him might give you some incentive." and he immediately stabbed Sasuke's left shoulder, causing blood to spill.

Sakura heard him cry out yet try to hold back as he glared at Doto and clenched his teeth.

"ANBU are used to pain," Doto said. "But how far till he breaks?"

He pulled out the kunai and stabbed his right thigh, making him buckle to his knees as he kept his mouth shut, refusing to let out a painful yell.

"He won't need a leg or an arm to live, heck he won't even need to see to live."

"Don't..." Sakura's voice cracked. "Don't do... don't!"

"Of course, the Uchiha clan's sharingan is everything," he knelt down to Sasuke's level, not intimidated by the glare the shinobi threw him. "But he can live without them." He tapped the tip of the knife at the side of Sasuke's head lightly. "I'll drag it across his eyes slowly."

Sakura clenched her fists and tried to read Sasuke's eyes, find it hard to decipher what was on his mind.

"...Stop it." She told Doto. "Or I'll really keep this power unused and sealed."

"Will you really?" He dug the tip deeper,causing a drop of blood to trickle from the skin of the young shinobi. "Now that I think about it, torturing Uchiha is like a consolation prize for me, and then maybe, I'll kill him afterwards." He smirked. "It's not like you ca hold back forever, Haruno Sakura."

He could feel his heart beating faster than normal, and inwardly, yes, he admitted her was fearing what would come, but he was still a shinobi, he was still an Uchiha. So he kept the act, he kept the impassive face and strong facade, he kept his honor.

And when he felt the kunai being dragged from the side of his head all the way towards his eyes, he merely clenched his fists to prepare for the pain.

"You fucking bastard!"

He ended up looking towards Sakura just as Doto Kazuhana had stopped to also look at her. Sasuke's eyes widened when Sakura yelled and hit the guy behind her with the back of her head, afterwards, punched the ground when her arms were free, focusing a large amount of chakra on it which caused the earth to shakre.

It threw most of the men that were still standing off balance, including Doto and Mikoto.

Sasuke watched as his partner was bursting with green chakra, and how the mark on her neck had started to glow.

"I'll kill you all..." She hissed out, glaring at Doto. "Starting with you."

She moved too fast for his eyes to follow, and she could hear a few bones cracking and a cry of pain from the leader of Kokuzoku.

He looked towards the direction of where Sakura had the man against the wall as she punched continuously, from the face to the chest, and then the stomach and back up again.

"Sak..." he lifted a hand to his throat, the shallow cut making it hard for him to speak properly. _"Damn it."_

He sensed a large man come up from behind him, and he immediately bent forward and swiped his leg around to trip him, afterwards, twisted his body to land a powerful kick on the man's torso, forcing him deeper onto the crack floor.

"Ch..." he flinched when some of his wounds alerted his brain of pain. He could barely move due to the stabs he received on his shoulder and leg, and the cut on his neck had to be taken care of properly or it might open a bit more and that could prove to be fatal.

"Sasuke."

He was shocked when his mother knelt down next to him and held him steady, afterwards, placed a palm over his neck and healed it.

"What are you-"

"No time to explain right now." She said as she finished healing his wound and moved to his leg. "I need you to stop Sakura."

"What-"

"This is wrong of me to say, but trust me right now." She pleaded, meeting her gaze. "She may be mad at Doto Kazuhana and these men, but she is not the type to kill someone."

"..."

"And if this keeps up, she'll target others – you're the only one who can stop her, you're the only one she won't kill."

"...You better elaborate on that later." He said with narrowed eyes, before turning to Sakura when his mother had finished healing him.

"I'll keep the others busy." She said, turning to face the men who had prepared to attack them. "Now that my cover's blown."

He took a quick look at his mother before turning to Sakura, flinching at the sight of Doto's mangled body. The guy was unconscious and close to be dead, yet Sakura still did not stop, even when she was already straddling the guy.

She lifted her right fist up, gathering as much chakra as she could in that one fist. "This will kill you." She seethed, ready to crack his skull. When she was about to send it down, she felt someone kneeling behind her and grip her wrist, and soon an arm was around her shoulder and she was pulled back.

Sakura felt a forehead rest on her left shoulder, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw black spiked up hair.

"Enough..." he said in a soft voice. "...That's enough..."

Her narrowed eyes turned to shock when she got a good look at Doto's current form, and then at her bloody self.

"It's enough..." He repeated, the seal on his left wrist pressed up against the one on her neck, causing both marks to sting a bit. "Come back Sakura..." He proceeded to speak before closing his eyes. "I want you... to come back."

Her body grew slack, and when he lifted his gaze to meet her tired ones, he knew she had lost a good deal of chakra. "Sasuke..."

He gave a small smile. "Hn. Cherry."

"...Jerk." She murmured in a weaker tone, yet managed a small smile.

"Get some rest." He told her, sitting back and pulling her into his arms. "I'll protect you."

She lay there and slipped into unconsciusness, with him holding her closer and looking at Doto's body.

"_Now I know why I always end up doing things for her..."_ he looked down at Sakura. _"Why I felt more protective of you, why I have an unspoken attraction for you."_ He smirked. _"Makes sense now."_

"Sasuke."

He looked up to see his mother approaching him, the rest of the men already down. He was about to speak but another chakra had caught his attention.

"Kakashi?"

The silver-haired jounin of Konoha approached him with his hands pocketed, his lone eye crinkling in amusement to see one of his former students.

"Yo. So you're aware of... yeah."

"Why am I the only one who could stop her?"

"Ahaha... always direct to the point." Kakashi chuckled. "Well, besides being the selected Uchiha to protect her, you're, in a way, bound by blood."

"How so?"

Kakashi looked at Mikoto who nodded and turned to tie down the unconscious forms of the men.

"First thing's first, your mother was on an undercover mission to spy the Kokuzoku, but to do so, she must put up a front of betraying her clan. To make it believable, only your father and a handful of ninja in Konoha and Oto know of it."

"And..?"

"Yeah, you figured that part out I see." He mumbled. "Anyway, we've heard from her about Doto Kazuhana wanting the Haruno secret, or curse as some would call it. It causes the person to release an extreme amount of chakra, and that energy source makes the host unable to control it, and will only recognize the chakra of the person responsible for protecting and sealing it away – in this case, you."

"Which makes me immune to her power."

"Correct." Kakashi nodded. "So let's skip the history of the two clans; during the ritual where Orochimaru performed the seals on you, you remember a drop of blood being -well, dropped onto your shallow-slit wrists?"

"Aa."

"And that that blood entered your body?"

"...Are you telling me that was Sakura's?"

"Yeah, it was from Sarutobi-sama." He explained. "You were the chosen Uchiha to protect the last Haruno heiress, blah blah blah." he waved it off. "Thus, the whole student exchange thing."

"There's more to it, huh?"

"Of course!" Kakashi exclaimed. "But I'll cut it short for you. You have a drop of Sakura's blood merged within you, so your body and chakra somehow recognizes her even if you yourself don't. It would explain your uncharacteristic sudden caring for her and all that shit." He mumbled. "Now, for your closeness to her, well, we can't avoid that can we?" He mused. "It's not like we can prevent you two from developing feelings for each other-"

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes Uchiha, I'm _fucking_ **dead** serious."

He looked at Kakashi, and then back at Sakura's unconscious form in his arms.

"If I was lying," the silver-haired Jounin spoke. "She would still be on a rampage._"_

"What the hell do you mean by feelings?"

Kakashi sighed. "Can't blame you for being emotionally stupid."

"Kakashi." He hissed.

"The seals on your wrists – they normally take longer to work against her seal; or so history states. However, since you have romantic feelings for dear little Sakura-chan, and vice versa, the seals are in mutual understanding to put it simply, thus, yours calms down hers, and hers gives in."

"That does not explain everything."

"Don't be in denial."

"I'm _not_." He sighed. "I mean..." He looked at Sakura and his gaze softened yet remained narrowed. "I... I do feel for her... just... it doesn't..."

"You're an idiot when it comes to feelings Sasuke." Kakashi stated bluntly. "But hey, you're an ANBU from Oto, I can't blame you."

He held Sakura closer and even went as far as leaning his head on hers. "Damn it I can't." He sighed. "I can't... we can't..."

"I know." Kakashi nodded. "Not illegally at least."

"Don't be a damn pervert right now."

Kakashi chuckled. "What I meant was – you're both unofficial yet. So if you want those kisses coming without your mind nagging at you, you'll have to court her. She's a noble after all." He smiled. "It's not entirely illegal for and Uchiha and a Haruno to fall for each other."

Kakashi stood and dusted his pants. "Oh and... your mission's done." He peered at Doto Kazuhana. "I doubt the Kokuzoku will still be a threat."

"What about Gato?"

"Took care of him the moment you sent that falcon." He chuckled. "Quite the fast bird."

"And Kaiza?"

"He and his family are safe, why not go see them before we depart?"

"...My brother?"

"Ah right, I almost forgot. I met him while up against Gato and a handful of Kokuzoku, told me he'd see you in Konoha."

"...Konoha."

"Well, you'll head back to Oto in a few weeks, but before that, Sarutobi-sama has something prepared for the school."

"Hn."

"We'll leave tomorrow at dawn, so until then, get some rest, work things out with Sakura, go see Tazuna and company, etc."

* * *

The soft sheets and mattress beneath her body made her moan in contentment, yet after suddenly recalling everything, she instantly opened her eyes and sat up, her eyes scanning the area only to find that she had no idea where she was.

"Where's..." she felt her left hand being held loosely by long and slender fingers, and she lowered her gaze to see her hand held by someone. Blinking, she spotted the all-too familiar black wrist band on that hand, and she trailed the pale arm to see a mop of messy raven hair. Her cheeks turned red when she saw his sleeping face – looking so calm and serene that she wouldn't have thought of him as a ninja if she didn't know him.

"Poor kid could barely carry you, not like he wanted anyone else to take you from him."

She turned to her right to see an old man with a young boy sleeping on his lap.

"Tazuna-san." She croaked, her voice hoarse.

"Ah, water's on the desk next to the bed."

She picked up the glass, not pulling her hand away from her partner's grip when she felt his fingers tighten a bit when she tried to pull away.

"Tazuna-san," she spoke after downing the contents of the glass. "Where am I?"

"Our home, of course." He grinned. "Better than that inn you two stayed in, eh?"

"It's homey." She smiled.

"I tried convincing that kid, but he went on about safety and stuff." He grunted. "With the Kokuzoku out of the way, well, it's safer."

"What happened when I was out?"

"Your teacher, Kakashi, he came after I told Sasuke about the Kokuzoku's hideout. Said it would be better if you two stayed somewhere else, so I offered our place."

"How long had I been out?"

"About a day and a half." He shrugged. "You were supposed to leave yesterday, but since you still hadn't awakened, Kakashi said that you two just stay until you wake up."

Sakura looked over at Sasuke.

"As for him, well, he finally gave in to sleep just a few moments ago."

They turned to the door as Tsunami came in carrying a blanket. She greeted Sakura with a smile before placing the cloth over Sasuke. "Chakra exhaustion?"

Tazuna nodded. "You know how he is."

"Well, it is Sakura after all." Tsunami smiled. "Add to that your family ties with his."

Her head lowered. "I can understand why my father wanted our clan to part from his."

"And look what happened." Tazuna deadpanned. "Anyway," he stood up, careful not to wake his grandson before carrying the boy and smiling at Sakura. "You go and continue recovering."

Tsunami nodded. "I'll bring you both your meals once they're ready."

"But-"

"Wave owes you this much." She insisted, before following her father out of the door.

Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke and gave a small smile. "I think they owe you more though." Her other hand instinctively went to brush off the strands of hair on his face, the action and touch causing him to stir a bit before he slowly opened his eyes.

He blinked a couple of times to adjust to the sudden intrusion of light before he moved his head a bit to look at Sakura, not once lifting it off of the soft mattress.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd wake up."

"...Hn." He sat up and rubbed an eye with his other hand, barely aware of their own joint hands. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit... better." She shrugged, only noting now that he had discarded his white button-up shirt. She then lowered her gaze to her own uniform, seeing the tie and vest missing.

"You were covered in blood, Tsunami-san had it them washed for you."

"So... this uniform I'm wearing?"

"The spare one you brought." He scratched the back of his head and lowered his head back on the mattress, their hands catching his eyes.

"Same goes for you then?"

"Aa." He closed his eyes and let his fingers intertwine with hers, causing her to blush and look at him.

"Sasuke?"

"I can't believe I fell for you."

_**To be continued...**_

* * *

_Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 9: Sealed_

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Ino merely laughed and wrapped an arm around her. "Oh Sakura, now that the secret is out about you being the noble Princess, those who have always wanted you, want you more."

"So, anyone else up for the challenge?" Sarutobi asked as he took his eyes off from the five male shinobi who were fired up in winning to claim the prize. "Who else wants to join?"

"I do." The crowd erupted into gasps and murmurs as another shinobi stepped up and walked towards Sarutobi calmly. "So I have to defeat these guys to get them off of her back?" He smirked. "Sounds easy enough."

Kakashi pocketed his book and chuckled. "Now it gets interesting."

_

* * *

A/N: Guess whose brain just died? Yep, mine. XD_


End file.
